Petrarch's View of Human Life: By Mrs. Dobson

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PETRAR-CH's VIEW

O F

HUMAN LIFE.

By Mrs. DOBSON.

CO, LITTLE BOOK ! TO THI FRIENDS OF HUMANITY, AND TO
THE LOVERS OP PETRARCH, AND LET THEIR HONOURABLE
AND UNITED SUFFRAGE SPREAD THE FAME OF HIS EX-
ALTED KNOWLEDGE, AND IMPRESS THE VIRTUES OF HIS
BENEVOLENT HEART !

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR JOHN STOCKDALB, PICCADILLY.
r MDCCXCI.

*

s*

&R?>2JL

T O

ANDREW STUART, Esq*

DEAR SIR,

IN doing myfelf the honour
of addrefling this work to you,
I cannot but add to the privilege
by remarking the fimilarity that
I have myfelf witnened to fome
parts of the character which it
has been and is my delight to
make known to the public, in
the clear judgment of your writ-
ings and difcourfe, and in that
mildnefs and courtefy of converfa-
tion which rendered Petrarch fo
dear to his friends and fo eftimable
to the world. Intrinfic as the
work is in itfelf, it could not need

A3 an

t,v

DEDICATION.

an apology, if I was not juftly
apprehennve that a fhade might
be drawn over it by the feeblenefs
of my reprefentation ; but as thofe
moft capable of difcerning defects
are always the moft ready to over-
look them, I will join this con-
viction with the lincerity of my
own endeavour, and they mall
be my honourable anchor of de-
fence.

I have the honour to be, dear Sir,
With the moft perfect refpecl:,
Your obliged arid obedient fervant,

SUSANNAH DOBSON,

APRIL 5, I790.

PREFACE,

JL HE celebrity of Petrarch's chara&er
has fo juftly obtained the efteem and
admiration of all thofe who have made
refearches into his philofophical works,
that I cannot but prefume thefe reflec-
tions of his on the viciflitudes of human
life will meet with approbation. In page
339 of the Life of Petrarch, vol. ii. I
gave a fliort account of this work ;' but
it was not till many years after that
publication I obtained the work itfelf,
which I now offer to the public, in the
full conviction that if I have been fo
a 4 happy

Vlll PREFACE*

happy to adhere in any degree to the
folidity of the reafoning and the true
point of the fatire, it will not fail to
pleafe, inftrud, and confole the mind of
every reader. Among the learned in
Italy the prpfe works of Petrarch were
the higheft in eftimation, and were
wrote in the Latin tongue, as was the
treatife above mentioned. His great
friendship for the noblemen to whom it
was addrefled, is proved in a moft ftrik-*
ing manner; for at the time Petrarch
compofed this piece, he was in the ze-
nith of his fame and glory, inftruft-
ing and ciharming all Italy by his
works, and united in friendfhip to the
greateft men, not only of that country,
but of that age \ yet' did he retire from
thefe fcenes of honour and renown, fb
flattering to human nature, and em-
ployed

PREFACE. IX

ployed himfelf, it is faid, above the fpace
of a year in private ftudy f to charm
away the cares and footh the forrows of
a friend enconipafled not only with
diftrefs, \but imprifbned, reviled, and
exiled. It is allowed that no one ever
furpaffed Petrarch in love, and furely
few will prove his competitors, and no
one his fuperior, in humanity. I truft,
therefore, this converfation on human
life, colledled from Petrarch's great ftore-
houfe of knowledge and genius, may
have the power to difpenfe the fupport
he defigned for his friend to all under
trouble, and that as none are fecured
from the viciffitudes of life, all may be
cheered and benefited by this view of
them, and may confider themfelves in
company and converfing with Petrarch

himfelf

PREFACE.

himfelf (an honour which popes and
kings afpircd to) ! and I think they can
fcarcely fail of doing this, if I have not
failed in the reprefentation.

PETRARCH'S PREFACE

TO HIS NOBLE FRIENP

AZON DE CORREGE.

DEAR FRIEND,

* ORTUNE, or rather our own lightnefe,
tofles us to and fro like a tennis-ball. We
are creatures of very (hort life, of infinite
carefiilnefs, and yet ignorant unto what
fhore to fail with our little (hip : but to the
induftry of a mind courageous as yours,
nothing is hard, nothing impregnable. To
this end I have thought it convenient, in the
way of familiar difcourfe, wherein argu-
ments Ihall be produced, and the wit whetted

on

*ii Petrarch's preface

on both fides of the queftion, to adjoin fun-
dry thoughts, and a&ions, aad mifhaps of
wife men, the chief earthly fountain, as I
conceive, of good and fruitful advice j for
among the perpetual furges which lift and
deprefc the foul, they may be faid to be
bright fhining liars from the firmament
of Truth, fweet and refrefliing gales of
wind, to direfk the flittering fails, and guide
pur wandering barks, driven about by
tettipefts, to the haven of Peace. I have
mingled with thefe thoughts of others a few
Hitters touching the excellencies of virtues;
and the power of vices, wherein how I have
behaved myfelf you {hall be judge. My
intent was, to give thee a fcort medicine,
ready at hind at all times and in all places,
and, as it were, an effe&ual remedy, that
might be contained in a portable box. Thy

PET&AR.CH S PREFACE, Xlll

Virtue hath this property, that all good men
love it, and the evil are aftonifhed ; for for-
titude fhineth moft confpicuous in the tur-
moils of fortune and the darknefs of terrible
things, and thou mayeft cry out with the
poet, " O virgin ! there is no new or fudden
fhew of troubles can arife unto me ; I have
thought upon all matters, and forecaft them
already in my mind," I will now, dear friend
hold thee no longer in difcourfe : but this much
was needful, that thou mighteft underftand
my book, and perceive* that as an over-
grown preface to a fhort book is like a
great head burthening a litde body, fo there
is nothing well favoured without due mea-
fure and proportion of parts- FareweL

YOUTH.

OHOW joyful are the days of youth !
the days of youth are mine. My
years are flourishing $ I fliall yet live a
long time ! A vain joy and a fhort : while
ye be fpeaking your flower fadeth — My
age is found — Who will call that found,
of which what remaineth is uncertain ?
But there is a certain propofed time and
law of living. Who made that, law?
Not he that received it ; with the giver
it refteth, even with God. But the life
of young men are more aflured, in that

they

l6 Y O V T tf.

they arc further off from old age, and ib
from death. Thou art deceived: that is the
moil dangerous part of life which much
carelefsnefs maketh unadvifed; there is
nothing nearer than death to life, even
tvhen they feem the furtheft afunder.
Well, at the leaft wife, Youth is now
prefent, and Age abfent. In darkilefs and
filence creepeth Age foftly in, and ftand-
cth at the door, ftriking unawares* But
v mine age is now riling* To thofe that
enter, years feem infinite; to thofe who
depart, nothing* Mine age i6 nothing,
fpent. How is that unipent which waft-
eth every moment ? The Heavensf turn
/about with perpetual motion; minutes
confume hours, and hours the day j that
day thrufteth forth another, fo time
fleeth away ; but, as Virgil fays, never
feemeth to wag her fwift wings. As

thofe

BEAUTY. 17

thofe that go in (hips come to their
voyage end before they be aware, fo
within the fpace of this fhort life, no-
thing is far off. , But there, is no part
further from the end than the beginning !
None indeed, if all men lived like fpace
of time; but even little children end
when fcarcely begun. I am far paft
their danger. , Time is the chariot of all
ages to carry men away, and beauty can-
not bribe this charioteer. If it could," he
would have no power over me;, : fbr my
beauty is lingular. It will prove Angu-
lar indeed, if the froft does not nip it,
or the wind beat it down, if it, is not
pinched with the nail of fome enemy's
hand, or demolifiied by the rough heel
of fome ficknefs pafling by: neither
doth the delight it bringeth equal the
horror that oft enfues at. its departure,
B as

|8 BIAUTT, ,

as the beautiful Roman Prince Domkiaii
proved; for he whofe form was moft
admirable, and who vied in height with
the lofty cedar, and did at firffc give great
promife of modefty, temperance, and
fweetnefs; he who publkhed feme good -
laws, embetlifhed Rome with ftately edi-
fices, re-eftablifhed the libraries that were
corifurned, and was fuccefsful agamft the
northern nations, yet became fiich a moiv-
fter of cruelty and debauchery, and fignal*
ized himfelf, fo to fpeak, in barbarity, '
that he was killed by the freed man of his
wife Domitia. From this example let
the moft promifing youth beware of the
pride pf beauty * lethimdired his eo&rfe
fafe and ftraight through virtue* for
|fliort is the proeefs of youth, &nd m it w
to be learnt the art of fo holding tran-
sitory Rights as to depart from them

wil-

willingly, which cannot continue with
you long, and to forfake them in heart
before they forfake you in reality,
But fuppofe the contrary, that beau-
ty doth remain, what is this glitter-
ing beauty ? It is only the uppermoft
part of the mere body, a iimplc and
flight overcafting of the fkin. A veil for
the eyes, a fnare for the feet, a depref~
(ion of the mind# its hindrance from
atchieving honeft exploits, and turning
it to the contrary. Yet is this beauty of
the body moft fweet and wonderful I
Thou doft fay well ; the vanity of it is
aftonifhing ! what travels does it fuftain,
what comforts forego, what punUhments
fuffer, what health, what time is loft,
what worthy and profitable labours are
negle&ed for this vain beauty; to fet
it forth what pinching of the feet, twift-
B z ing

40 BEAUT Y.

ing of the curls, gorging at one feafon,
for having been obliged to faft, in order
to get time for trimming and decking at
another, and tricking out the body with
the nicer care ; art enemy at home, ever
corroding thy mind, provoking it to un-
manly trifles or unlawful paflions, and
confequently to fufpicion, hatred,* and
jealoufy* As to jealoufy in wedlock,
beauty is the firebrand that doth light it
into flames; fo that it doth plainly ap-
pear, that while nothing is coveted more
forcibly, nothing is fufpe&ed more ve-
hemently, I will endeavour that my
beauty fhall be adorned with honefty ; if
thou doft bring that about, then lhalt
thou be indeed renowned; if thou doft
ufe this enfnaring beauty to the advance-
ment of thy modefty, thy fobriety, and
thy chaftity, thy virtue £hall be accept-
able

LOVE. 21

a&le to all men* nay, by this thou (halt
merit, and by this alone thou canft merit
a true and worthy affe&ion, that refiner
of the mind — that ftay of the heart of
youth. — Glad is this fentence to my ears;
for I love with fondnefs, and I have met
with a moft faithful return in a wife :—
thou art a notable fowler, thou haft
found a white crow — the choice of a wife
ijs hard; a fair one is hardly kept, and
an honeft one, if rich, is likely to bring
pride into thy houfe. Is not an honeft
marriage honourable ? A chafte marriage
i$ alone honourable; but remember thofe
who marry have gained guefts, not for a
day, but for life; great are its cares,
art thou prepared for them? — 1 am
delighted with my wife! Haft thou
ever looked into families, and obferyed
the infinite difputes, poor jealoufies, and
endlefs toils therein; the noife of chil-
B 3 dren,

21 LOVE.

dren, the babble of fervants, the jcfts
and clamour of nuries ? Ardent love is
iny choice, and love can bear all diffi-
culties. Thou haft well &id ardent;
love is a fire at firft; but the fire is
apt to go out, and chilly weariibmenefs
to come in : if thou thinkeft there be
any truft in love, bring forth the bill of
thy lover's hand, which was written in
the brittle ice whereunto the foutbern
winds do bear witnefs. Let them hate
that lift; I will love. Two extremes
are at an equal diftance from virtue, cold
hatred, and burning love! What, fhafl I
not love with arduor, if I meet with that
which is lovely? Some men have loved
God, who alone is worthy of adoration,
fo fervently, as fredy to lofe their lives :
others have not looked fi> high; but
have done the feme for virtue and for

their

MARRIAGE. 2 J

country. I was never in Heaven, nor have
I feen virtue: I love the. things that can be
feen. Then thou oppofeth the command-
ment love not the things that are fctn !
Why wilt thou turn all the pleafures of
youth to (lander : far be that from m6, I
only tell thee among what rocks thou doll
drive thy (lender boat. I would have
. thee engage in wedlock, not for the love
I of beauty, but for the love and protec-
\ tion of merit: for a companion, to
help thee through thy cares, and wor-
thily and holily to breed up thy children,
that they may not, like unpruned trees,
bear thee no fruits of gratitude and love
in youth, after having wearied out thy
patience in childhood, above all if beau-
tiful : if females, the danger will be ex-
ceffive : many failors do pafs every day
on the calm fea — merchants do travel fafe
B 4 through

24 CHILDREN.

through the dcfarts with their merchan-
difes, neither pirates affault the one,
nor thieves the other *, but what woman
with beauty hath riot been eflayed, the
fcaling ladder of fugared words ar? with
fecret deceit fet againft them; and if
thefe fail, horrible intents are often
formed. Is there, think you, but one
Jafon, one Thefeus, one Paris ? yea there
be a thoufand. Say thou doft marry
thy daughter, thou doft only tranflate thy
fear to another, or if thy fon bringeth
a wife home to thy domeftic caftle, her
expence and folly may be the bane of
thee and thine. What muft I love no
one then but live in fear continual-
ly ? Certainly thou muft love both pa-
rents, wives, and children ; but you muft
love thefe and all, in him, in whom all
live and are brethren, with wifdom and

fub-

CHILDREN. 25

fubmiffion ; .that neither the innumerable
chances that happen to each, nor the
death of children, nor the alteration of
their conduct towards thee, if they live,
fhall compel thee to anger or defpair, for
it is folly to conceive great joy of things
fo uncertain, fo unproved. Hedtor waa
idolized by Priam, Achilles proved hixn
to be mortal. But to fome, children
have proved comforts and the fup-
port of life; they are then moil preci-
ous jewels in the fight of all men, and
even fome brought into a houfe have
proved fo : Auguftus Caefar found this
treafure in Matcus Agrippa, and Anto-
ninus Pius in MarcCis Aurelius, to whom
they married their daughters : the latter
for twenty- three years fo demeaned him-
felf, that he deferyed the fucceflion to
his empire: thefe are the rewards of a'

fafe

26 CHILDREN.

fefe and quiet modefty, and children
who poflefs it do honour to their friends
whether they fend them out or keep
them at home,

I have a dear prattling and flat-
tering infant ! O take heed that thofe
flatterings turn not into tears ; the fight
and prattle of a young child is very plea-
fant, and as fays Popinius, their heaven-
ly looks, and interrupted words, after the
/ manner of verfes or metre whilft heard
do delight, but when heard no more do
grieve intenfely ; bitternefs is wifely fet
againft fweetnefs, to guard thee; I am
delighted in my moil pleafant infant ! I
forbid thee not to be delighted, I may not
withstand nature, but I feek for a me-
dium. I would have thee rejoice more

fparingly

CHILDREN. %J

Sparingly, that if thou have occafion to
grieve, thou mayft grieve patiently j and
I wifh thee to forefee, that thou doft
truft to a broken reed, or lean to a fall-
ing wall, which faid the Emperor Adrian,
who had adopted Ochus, a fair but weak
child. The deftinies faith he {ball fhew
him to the earth in his bud: alfo re-
fledt, that thy pleafant child may become
a very uppleafan* and difobedient young
pian ; for a multitude of children, fweet
to behold, have fo proved themfelves ; I
yet muft rejoice in my <:hUd, there is no
Jiufbafcdman fo fbolifb who will rejoice
much in the flower, the fruit is to be looked
for; in the mean time tempefts, hail, and
bladings are to be feared, and fo thy joy
muft be moderated with dread. If thy
fon is valiant have a coffin in readhiefs,
if thy daughter is beauteous, however

honeft,

28 CHILDREN,

honcft, think of Lucretia, for the wick-
ednefe of the reprobate abufeth the
ornaments of the virtuous. If thy fon
is a "valiant man, hemaypurchafe to his
country liberty to his enemy's flaughter,
to himfelf honour, and to thee daily fears
and tears: how did Creon bewail in his
fon that was flain his courageous defire
of martial praife — whereof did fearful
Priam admonifh his fon Hedtor that he
fhould not venture alone to expert
Achilles — and his careful mother, but
to fhun that dread champion; the wife
of Hedtor fpoke in this beautiful wife ;
Doth thy valour fo bewitqh thee,
that thou takeft compaffion neither
upon thy fon nor upon me his mo-
ther who (hall fhortly be thy widpw !
And the mother of the brave Achilles ;
— Now jnuft I feek for my fon Achilles.

by

DOWRY. 29

by land and by fea, and I would he
would follow me,.whilft in vain fhe took
him, being, feeble, out of the prefs of
the hot wars, and carrying him into the
palace of the calm old man hid him in
his fecret clofet. All thefe lamentations
and fears were for thofe fweet in child-
hood but unquiet in youth : fortitude is no-
ble and magnanimity deferves praife, but
pain is procured by the one and trouble
by the other, while modefty and calmnefs
are fafe and quiet; and the parents of
much good. I have all things neceflary
for the fettlement of a family; my houfe
is magnificent, and my wife has enriched
me with a great dowry. Peradventure
with a great tyranny alfo: for beauty and
dowry are the two fteeples of women's
pride. My wife has rn^de me very ; rich
and has fhe not taken away thy liberty, foK

where

30 DOWRY.

where riches come in, liberty oft goeth
out. Lycurgus knowing this, made a
law that maidens ihould be married
without a dowry; adding a good reafon,
look to the wife not the money. A
dowry is the wife's licenfe, and the huf-
band's bridle: would not the wife be
many times fhut out think ye, if, with-
out her the dowry could be kept — in ?
With thofe who bafely feeka virgin from
covetoufnefs, not love, (he furely would.
The true dowry of women is modefty,
truth, and chaftity, and a poor one with
thefe is a treafure, a rich one without
them a vain and ftrutting peacock.

The emperor Antonius Aiirelius,
when exhorted to put away his wife for
her incontinence, anfwered, if I put
her away I muft reltore her dowry,

which

DOWRY. 31

which was the empire: thus was the
mind of this great man and wife philo-
sopher, for he loft not the name al-
though an Emperor, cruelly bridled with
the dowry of his wife. Dowries were
devifed at firft to fupport charges, not to
provoke covetoufnefs j it ikilleth dot how
great the dowry, but what manner of
Woman the wife is, and even in the
dowry not fo much the quantity as
the quality is to be confidered, from
whence it came, and by what means
it was gotten. A great dowry got by
ill means is a horrible attainment, witnefs
the Heliopolitan and Punic cuftoms,
where marriages were not made by the
religion of their country, but the dow-
ries gained by the incontinence of
their women, fuch riches will never
cure the fkknefs that (hall a&i& the

mind.

32 DOWRY*

mind. Julius Caefar after conquering
France, Germany, Britain, and Spain,
Armenia, Italy, TheiTaly, and Egypt,
was conquered at Alexandria by the
fplendid lures of Cleopatra. Hannibal
that great conqueror humbled himfelf
to a harlot — not to fpeak of thofe old
tales of heroes raifed to gods, as Ju-
piter transformed to a beaft caught in
a ridiculous net — Hercules fpinning
upon the diftaff — Leander ftriving with
the furges of the fea — Biblis killed by
his tears — Procry by her hufband's
dart — Pyromus by his own weapon —
and Hyphis by the halter. — More cer-
tain than thefe fables are the Grecian
captains fighting for evil afFedtions and
Troy burning with avenging fire. — But
thefe w^re not married for a dowry; no
truly, but evil paffions are fimilar in

their

DOWRY. 33

their nature; and alfo though under dif-
ferent appearances in their efFedts; for
what wafte, riot, noife> and intemper-
ance, cometh not in with a great dowry,
and therefore I pointed thee out as be-
longing to thefe ; for a woman married
only for her dowry is not a legal wife :
thou doft underftand me, — My wife is
as good as fhe is rich, (he will then join
with thee not in fpending her riches
in evil, but in applying them to virtue;
in feeding the poor, cloathing the nak-
ed, railing the humble, ftrengthening
the weak, and caufing thy children to
blefs and not to curfe thee, as they furely
will, if thou bringeft them up in pride
and extravagance. My wife is good :
if by good thou doft mean that (he
is humble and faithful; thou mayeft
indeed rejoice; a chafle and humble
C woman,

34 HOUSE.

woman, with a great dowry, is in truth
a Phoenix, nor > do I fay it of women
only, youth, bred up to expedt riches,
are flattered, not nurtured, trifled with,
not taught; all ftoop to them, and they
lord it over all: but in a woman k works
the greater ill, as the more quiet life
breeds the more idlenefs, and the lefs
knowledge the greater pride. Let not
therefore thy fpacious houie and thy fine
furniture lift them up to pride, as it hath
^lone thee, for it is the praife of the ar-
tificer and the workmen, not thine.

I dwell in a wide houfej where theives
may be hid, where thou mayft wander,
and where thy ffervants may riot. To
the happy life it ikilletti not how wide,
but how merrily thou liveft : I dwell in
a high and princely houfe. Doth Death

require

FURNITURE. 35

require a Udder to climb up to the top
of it? Tullius Hoftilius was ftruck
with lightning from heaven in his
court; and Tarquin the Superb, was
driyen from thence out of his kingdom.
IVfy dwelling is mine own forever. — Of
whom haft thou received the deed ? at
heft thou art hut a renter, and one may
come who will thrufl: tfyee out naked,
then ftalt thou exchange thy gorgeous
palace for a dark jmd narrow manfion —
I enjoy it now, and have plenty of furni-
ture and fine things in my fpacious houfe :
A great burthen, if you ever wifli to
change place op remove for a feaibn, and
while in it a continual war, not only with
thieves, but with mice and moths, fpiders
alfo, and ruft, fmpke^ and dufl and rain.
My furniture is Tq &>e it is envied at —
Theteis nothing more hungry than Envy,
C2 nothing

36 PICTURES.

nothing more miferable than covetouf-
nefs : greedinefs is provoked by feeking
many things, and when obtained they
have no longer relifti; admit thou have
them ftill; what care to look to, to
number, to fold, to beat, to brufh, to
dipleafe as well as to pleafe thine eyes.
I delight in my pidtures. Among the
Grecians, Pliny tells us, the art of paint-
ing was efteemed above all handy-crafts,
and the chief of all the liberal arts;
and the proof of this is the ma4 prices,
wherewith thefe have been bought and
placed at Rome, either in the bedcham-
bers of the Emperors, or in public
porches or galleries, or in the temples
of the Gods ! .

If thefe things that are counterfeited
and fhadowed with fading colours do

fo

STATUES. 37

fo much delight thee, caft thine eyes up
to him that hath made the originals; who
adorned town's face with fenfes, his mind
with understanding, the heaven with
ikrs, and the earth with flowers, and
fo. cbmpare real and' vifionary beauties.
I take great pleafure alfo in images;
they are folid, thefe come in fhew more
near unto nature than pi&ures, for they
do but appear, but thefe are felt to be
fubftantkl, and their bodies are more
durable:, but both the arts fpring from
One fountain : the art of drawing, Ap-
pelles, Pyrgoteles and Lyfippus, flourish-
ed at the fame time. Alexander of Ma-
cedon, chofe thefe three, the one to
paint him; the other to engrave him;
and the third to carve him : forbidding
all others to meddle with, or exprefs the
king's face any manner of way. How

38 STATUES.

great the dignity hath been of ftatues,
4 and hbto fervently the ftudy and defire
of men have repofed in fuch pleafures*
Anguftus and Vefpafian* emperdts and
kings and other nbbie perfonages; nay,
even perfohs of inferior degfee, have
fhewrt, in their indtiftrious keeping of
them when obtained, and the dedication
they have made of thetti. Hereunto
may be added the great fame of the
workmen, not rafhly fpread abroad by
the unjudging multitude, but celebrated
- in the Soiinding books of learned and
approved writers. I do conceive wdn-
drous pleafure in flatties and images-
one of thefe arts worketh With #air*
plafter of Paris, ittd dfeaVfag tky>
which m thi? I take to be niOre frfetid*
ly to virttie, aftd comes n&Jrer io Wa-
hire, in thfct it is ltaft -enemy tp mo*

defty

IMAGES. 39

defty and thriftinefs^ which tvro virtues
do more allow images to be made of
earth and fuch like matter, than of
gold and precious ftones : but this would
not firit with a covetous dtefire of what
is fine; which the valuation of things
now % fequireth, and which expendeth
on fuch things, that which belongeth to
want. Haft thou not heard of the
image of a king of Aflyria made of
gold, threefcore cubits long, which it
was death not to adore $ and how many
of this day would adore it to have it
thdtf own ! or the topaz of four cubifs
long, of which a queen of Egypt's"
image was made. Oh, the delight of
images thus cunningly wrought f — I
fuppofe thou wouldeft not much en-
quire after the workman, if thou hadft
the pebble of which it is made, to fpeafc
C4 the

40 I M AG E S.

the truth* Images were formerly tokens
of virtues erected in honour of. fuch as
fyad done worthy deed?, or died for
their country's . weal ; as thofe fet up
in memory of the Ambaffadors flain hy
the Vetii, and for Scipio Africanus the
deliverer of Italy, which his moft va-
liant courage, and his worthy modefty
would not receive living; but which,
after his death, he could not refufe. It
is from the anvil* the hammer, the
tongs, the coal, the handy-labour, but
above all, the , invention, thefe things
are wrought : they employ great time
and manifold anxiety $ and are therefore
only to be loved as they prove the-
excellent wit. of the maker, and as they
preferve the memory of virtuous deed$ ;
but they are not to be loved above rea-
fon, or ^bove prudence, or above duty.

In

CORINTHIAN. VESSELS. 41

In this laft fenfe the apoftle commands,
keep yourfelves from Images, for many
have rebelled againft their faith and their
religion by adoring tjiem inftead of the
Creator, to whom in all your contem-
plations you fhould rife as alpne adorable !

At leaft I may be raviflied with the
beauty of Corinthian veffels. When
Mummius had taken the city of Co-
rinth, and after the lpoil confumed
it with fire, all manner of images of
gold, -and filver, and brafs, whatfoever
by chance had efcaped the hands of the
conquerors, whereof that city in old
time was full, were with like fire molten
together : all kinds of metals run as it
were flowing into one channel, and from
thence arofe one noble metal of which
was made thefe precious veffels : thus

42 CORINTHIAN VESSELS.

from the deftru&ion of that city, mat-
ter Was prepared for the madnefs that
fhould follow, and from Damafcus now
cometh veflels which will foon bring
on a new ravifhment to your eyes. But
fee the evil of fuch delights ; Auguftus
the emperor, though a modeft and grave
pt iftce, was fo driven headldng with this
paffion, that he was thought tdliave
condemned certain in the criminal prd-
fecution only becaufe he defired their
fine veflels ; and a libel was fattened
upon the ftatue of this prince, wherein,
to his perpetual ignominy, he was term-'
ed a Corinthiarion, the greatnefs of the
offender from Example and obfervaw
tion, increafeth the evil of the offence:
the pratling multitude fear kings in pre-
fence, but they hifs in dens, bark in
darknefs, and fend forth doubtful voices

to

PRECldUS STONES. 4J

to the clduds. If this vice could hap*
pen to fo great a riiari as Auguftus, what
may not private men be aefcufed of,
who ought to abandon all fuperfluity,
and thofe who nourlfli it. Corinth
is revenged! fhe burns thetn with
her flames, afrd rt^esi the walls of their
riiiflds with the fptrils file once boafted ;
thai thou mayft cttre this ficknefs of
thy mind and iidt havfe it broken down
thereby* inftead 6f the care of unprofit-
able Vfeflfelsi takfe orie friore wholefome
tfpofl ihkbf know £s it is written, how
to poflfefi tity cfrrh vfeflel in juftice and
hblihefs, which the paflioh and define
of having will incetfaiitly colittteradt.

I muft yet own, t\izt precious ftones
delight nie!-^I grieve they do, for
JtoW uncertain their yalue are, rtiay be

44 CARBUNCLE.

fcen ill what chanced of late; a Gentle-
man of greater fortune than wifdom,
bought a little ftone, faid to be a
carbuncle, for ten thoufand crowns,—
Its uncommon brightnefs and beauty
brought in fufpicion the truth of it, on
which he (hewed it to a lapidary, who
faid, indeed, it was no true (tone, but
glafs, xlevifed with wonderful art: thus
it proved that glafs was more beautiful
than any ftone. Let this be an exam-
ple to thofe who caft away their money .
on fuch things; for fbme there have
been, who have carried their love of
what is rare, both in ftatues, (tones,
and pictures, tomadnefs.

Nonius was a fenator of Rome, a
very rich gentleman, he had a pre-
cious ftone efteemed at twenty thou-
fand

OPAL ITS. 45

fend crowns; its name Was Opalus,
it groweth in India, glittering with
variety of all colours: now, Antonius
the Triumvir, defiring this jewel, to
whom whatever was coveted was law-
ful, published the name of Nonius
among thofe he profcribed. Nonius
departed, but he took his jewel with
him ; caring neither for .banifhment,
nor the lofs of his country, nor beg-
gary, nor if need be, to die, fo he
could but clafp his dear Opal to his
heart. • Nature made not thefe pailions,
and even opinion changeth them : fome
giving the prize to one, and fome to
another; diamonds in old times were wont
to be the gems of kings alone, and that
not of all, but the chief only, now it
is fet on the fingers of common people:
the Arabian pearl is held next in.efti-
jnation, and after thefe the emerald. —

Pompey,

46 PEARLS.

Pompey, who conquered the Wjeft, re-
turned from the Eaft another man;
adorned, not with humility as before,
but with exquifite pearl$, and on the
fhoulders of one man was laid the fpoil
of the Eaft; which, with the infulting
of the conquered people, was no fmall
rebuke. Nor did any thing more tarnifh
Pompey's glory or impair his fame, than
yielding to fuch vain delights : not the
lofs of life but this vanity was his fall.
In truth no captains have governed
themfelves uprightly among the plea-
fures of Afia, which have vanquished
them in their own foil.

In the judgment of king Pyrrhus, who
made war againft the Romans, the agate
wa& efteemed of all Aones the moJft preci-
ous; he pofldSed one as xeport goath, in

which

AGATE. 47

which was reprefented the fhapes of fua*.
«dry things; as beafts, rivers, forefts, and
birds, formed by the hand of nature. But
what good, I pray thee, did this agate do
to Pyrrhus ? did it make him invincible
in battle, or deliver him from the ftonc
with which he was afterwards crufhed
to death ? Fabricius and Curius, I dare
affirm, by whom he was driven out of
Italy, would not have made exchange
of their rough iron .helmets, for his
glittering fword befet with gold and pre-
cious ftones, or for his icingly ring, hi*
precious agate \ It is alfo recorded of
king Poiycrates, that he had a beautiful
fardonyx, counted in his time the jewel
of jewels ; and wifhing to appeafe for-
tune, whom having never felt, he fear-
ed; he took his ring, launched forth
into the deep, and with his own hand

threw

48 SARDONIC

threw it into the fea ; but Fortune being

neither eafily deceived, nor eafily pleafed,

fent a filh as it were on a meflage for

the ring, which receiving into his mouth,

and being foon after taken by the. fifh-

ermen, was by chance ferved to the

king's table, when, to the aftonifhment

of the beholders, and his difinay, the

jing appeared in its ftomach ! It is faid

that Auguftus Caefar hearing of. this

ring, paid the rare price demanded for

it, caufed it to be* fet in a crown of gold,

and dedicated it in the temple of Concord.

O how I fhould have been charmed with

that ring ! yet Pythagoras, without it,

died in peace, was worfliipped for his

goodnefs, and his houfe efleemed holy;

while Polycrates was put to death by

Orontes, governor of Sardis. And of

late

lafe days, king John of France* wofft
& carbuncle as little tifeful to him, as
the fafdonix of Potycrates ! But theft
ftones have real beauty: X deny it not;
it were to deny the maker, I only fay
they Avail not to felicity, nor detract
from mifery: But gold and preciotis
ftones are delightful to drink Out of j
They are excellent for poifoning, and
for gathering dirt, that fhaH impair the
health* Well, then, I may fafely ttfe
Cup? of cryftal ? Ye that befpangle ycttf
Very floors with gold, like the altars erf
churches, and would repine at the beau-
ty of heaven if it glittered more fenfibfy
in your eyes than yottr gems, may well
covet this frozen ice dbg out of the
hard clhfs and rocks of the Alps', Sit
the hazard of life, by haiigfog doWft
. ' D from

50 AMBER AND GQLD VESSELS.

from them by a rope. A certain Empe-.
ror envying that any fhould drink out of
his rare cryftal vefiels, too enchant-
ing he thought, for any lips but his
own, dafhed them againft each other,
and thus wreaked his fury on his moft
beloved cups. Amber cups were the
pride of our anceftors; to have pots,
kettles, bafbns, and difhes, and even
common utenfils of gold are yours ! do
the radiant carbuncle, the green eme-
rald, the bright fapphire, the white
pearl, the yellow amber, the clear cryf-
tal, fo much allure thee? and neither
the brightnefs of the fun and the ftars,
the greennefs of the grafs and trees, nor
the lucid and pure air of the clear morn-
ing Iky. move thy n.ind to that great
Creator who made all thefc, and the.
hands that fhould cunningly work, and

the

APPAREL, 51

the eyes that fhould delightedly behold
him in his works, and who cloaths both
theme and thee ! I am indeed bravely ap-
pared, Thou mayft, perhaps, be afham-
ed of thy outward trirnnefs, if thou look-
eft within, and beholdeth what a banner
of pride thou hangeft out. I will not
fet againft thee godly poor fouls, half
naked, and ftiff with cold, arid fcarce
able to keep off the winter's bitternefs
with their fimple mantle: of. rug.: I
know too well, that finful wealth dif-
daineth holy poverty: yet 'Auguftus, a.
great man, and a great example in many
things, as I have told thee, though not
without blame, he ufed to wear none
other garments but fuch *&s were fpun
and wrought by his wife, r his lifter, his-
daugh ter- and. nieces : for it is written of
him, thus he who was Lord of all,.
D 2 wearied

5* C At T tf I a 0.

Waaricd a few women but they Were
niear of kin* whilft thou, a fubjeft* per-
haps a fervant, doft weary nations that are
a great way off. For thee the Flemings
fpin, card, and weave ; for thee the Per-*
fians, the Indians, do toil ; for thee the
Syrian Murrey fwimmeth ; for thee the
foft grain hangeth on the fhrubsj for
thee the fleecy fheep of Britain browfe
on their white cliffs ; both oceans fweat
for thy fake : — r for Auguftus only his
! family labour. My garments are, in-
\ deed, exquifite: Goftly apparel, both
by fufpicion of diligent trimming* and
fitting forth the beauty, oft diminHhcth
the grace, and by the brightnefs be*
wrayeth every bkmifii of the wearer,
and that which is done to win fame pro*
yokcth envy, and not feldom, lattghter,
I am decked forth in moil choice colours;

the

ORNAMENTS, 53

the colours of nature cannot be fur-
pafled by art, who difdairting tb*
competition, to which fhe is provoke
ed, by the greater force fhe is preff*
«d and covered, fb much the more fhe
rifeth up and fheweth lierfelf. As for
the natural deformities of. any mortal
body, they cafl neither be altered with
colour nor covered with odour*, but ard
by them made more evident to be {can,
Or mojre doubtful to be fufpe&ed,

I am carried away with the love of
precious and valuable attire : lay a dead
carcafe in a coffin of gold, and kt H
round about with pearls and cloth o§
gold $ the more thou trirtftrieft if, tbtf
' more horrible it is> and that thou m&yfc
not be offended at what I fayv kt \&
fcek ©ut the original, of the word Carcafe,
P 3 *

54 HEAD DRESS. 1

it cometh of the verb cado, which fig-
fieth to fall ; if fo, why may not the
body of a living man be alfo fo called,
as well as of a dead ; for the one is al-
ready fallen, the other fhall fall, and is
falling continually. My apparel is made
after the neweft fafhion; 1 have not
time nor place to lament the counter-
feiting mockery of outlandifh attire which
this prefent frantic age hath brought in
amongft you ; with braided and frizzled
hair, with hard and uncivil manners,
bewraying the emptinefs of the head, by
the impudence of the demeanor, and the
lightnefs of the mind, by the wavering
of the feathers on the top, whether the
vigilance of the devifers, or the aptnefs
of the fcholars, do enforce fuch folly, it
comes to pafs, that between buffoons and

dulses^

TRAIN OF SERVANTS. $$

dukes, honeft women and harlots, there
is in fight almoft no difference at all.

, Thou wilt furely allow a great train is
refpe&able. I will fay, thou art de-
lighted with thy own impediments to eafe
many fervants are many enemies, from
whom thou canft not efcape ; who behold
the fecrfcts of thy houfe, and betray the
difcourfes of thy table ; who, while they
are cloathed and fed by thee, if they
do not thieve, as is like, yet caufe dif-
cord and ftrife, and many domeftic evils,
of which thou mull either he a fhameful
beholder, or a painful appeafer. With
many fervants there is much noife and
little fervice, or none, or even work,
and damage made by their carelefsnefs ;
they ftand in one. another's way; and
when called refufe to anfwer : they have
D 4 wide

$6 aiUANTS,

wide ftctm&chf and flippery throat a ^
whatfoever they hear runneth through,
them as a fieve — to govern a few fer-

/ vants is hard, hut to CQntroul many im-.

[ poflibte; a quantity of evil is worfe
then a fmall portion — nothing more
lowly than fervant* on their entrance*
nothing more afluming on their conti-*
nuance, nothing more infolcnt at theit
departure ; they will rail even when thou
art paying them, and greedily watch to
take fome memento of thy folly along
with them -, fomething that is not their
own. What haft thou dpne, wretch \
that thou fhouldft need fo many keepers
to watch and to ruin thee ! Better had
it been for, thee thou, hadft been poor*
then wouldft thou have been delivered
from a remedilefs evil. But are there no
ibtvaitfs, true and faithful? andis not the

igno«»

SUMPTUOUS TABLE. fy

ignorance of others % great excufe: r%
certainly is; and the ill examples of thei*
matters a. greater. Some there are, ng
doubt, found worthy of truft, and when
thefe jewels are met with, they are of
far more value than the agate of Pyrrhus,
or the fardonix of Polycates j in a large
train there is little hope of fucb. But how
is a furaptuous table to be kept without
much attendance ? A fumptuous tablp
may appear to Ace a great matter, anct
as far as hofpitality is concerned, thct
plenty but not the grandeur of it is
defirablej this is better fhewn by a
few good difhes than by a multitude, and
a few well managed fervants, than an
idle gaping train, and thy guefts will
£eel more at their eafc at this hofpitabk
board. I keep a moii plentiful table %
|h& fcerocth to tbec ft great matter*

but

58 DAINTY DISHES.

but indeed it is little, and foon will be
nothing. Will the worms therefore
fpare thee more than the hard hufband-
man ? or rather, will they not feed on
thy fofter meat the more greedily ? I do
neither jeft with, nor mean%to terrify
thee ; well thou knoweft, although thou
do difTcmble it, that thou art food pre-
paring for that banquet. Perhaps it is
now near fupper time, or at leaft not far
off; for the day is fhort, the guefts be ,
hungry, and death, which layeth the
table, is ready. — Oh ! evil begun in
childhood, wherein neglecting the ftudy
of good arts, for exquifite fare and deli-
cate foreign drinks, thou art grown up
to a worthy expedition, to know their
taftes and fmells, to reverence the glit-
tering courfe. When fo many holy fa-
thers have hungered . in the wildernefs,

and

WINE, 59

and fo many famous captains have lived
Sparingly, thou art befet with thy dainty
difhes, and gems to ornament them. I
do, indeed, fare moft delicately ! Thou
furpaffeth then Auguftus Caefar ; hedieted
on fimple cheefe and a few fmall fifhes ;
Curius .Fabricius eat out of earthen
veffels, on herbs gathered with his own
hands $ and Cato the Cpnfor drank none
other wine than his foldiers did. My
wines are moft choice. Auguftus ufed
feldom^o drink wine, not above thrice
at fupperj but now ye quaff before
meat, and at meat, and yotir caroufes,
cannot be numbered. He, when he
was athirft, eat bread dipped in cold
water, or a moift apple, or a cucumber ;
but ye inflame your thirft, inftead of
quenching it, nor remember that ye
drink the blood of the earth, and the

poifon

(JO FEAST $.

poifbn of hemlock, as did Alexander,

who flew his friends and perifhed

himfelf in wine : thus are foula and

the bodies, made to ferve them* de-

ftroyed together. Among all the plea-

/ furcs which creep from the body to the

| foul, they are accounted moil vile which

! are accompliflied by feeding, forafmuch

! as thefe fenfes are common tp us with

beafls y and crook down the reafonabk

creature jf alfo loathibmenefs is next

neighbour to fallncfs, difeafe? follow,

find death haftens to the manfion of

gluttons. Feafts are a pompous frenzy,

they call together a great many rich

folks, who had better have been empty j

if thou pleafe one man, thou fhalt be fure

to difpleafe the many. Good fare, well

beftowed, appertains to pleafure; but a

jnultitude aflfembled will ever difagree :

this

Leasts. 6t

this diih had an ill tafte, that an ill
finell ; the other fliould have been fet
down firft; this comes cold to the table*
that was out of feafon ; that meat was
raw* the other parched up ; this waiter
Was too flow, that too quick ; that fel-
low there is deaf, how ftupid the other*
With fuch like complaints the halls and
tables refound. To what purpofe all
this coft and labour ? I imagine that if
one of the guefts the next day flood
in need of fo much as the di£h of
meat he eat of was worth, he fhould
ftever be able to obtain it at the matter's
band. I love fociable meals ; fuch only
can be juftly loved and coveted; the
mqekfty of a man's look will fhew hi*
moderation in diet; the, puffing, Wow-
ing, irk&roenef$ t and quarrelfome tem->
pef qf othws, their luxury, and, as one

may

62 FEASTS.

may truly fay, difpofition to be furfeitv
ed; the horfe will kick thofe who over-
load him; he is not to be trufted with
too great a charge. At feafts fome are
loud, others ftupid; the wine, fay others*
Was fmall, not genuine. To what end
fuch a parade of banquets, but to
create difcontent; to what purpofe thy
trumpets and thy fhalms founding to-
gether to proclaim thy pomp and thy
| pride. — In truth the feaft is made not
I for the good of the guefts, but for tafeed
\ the vanity of the giver ; hot to benefit
friends, but to gain flatterers; not to
fuccour the needy or entertain worthy
and impoverifhed guefts, foi fuch are
feldom or never invited; feafts where
to blazen out the table?, and prefs -m
As many of thofe who fhall fhine at then*
as pofTible, is the eager rage of the invr-

tor*

TEMPERANCE 63

tor. To fay howerouded was their fump-
tuous board, how delicately apparalled
their guefts. To a learned or a good man,
what a folly does this feem : to him to
think is to live: Ao him the conference
of a few valued friends, not the banquets
of the rich is a feaft indeed ! Julius Cae-
far was Angularly abftemious in diet, and
he had fo clear a head and fc found a
judgment, that he could didtate and
write at the fame time. .Epicurus,
though fince prophaned, commended a
fpare diet as the foundation of philofo-
phy, and what we* afcribe to fobriety
and modefly, he called pleafure, and
truly fo ; for there is no lafting pleafure
beyond the bounds of temperance, and
multitudes have perifhed from forfaking
her wholefome laws. It is obferved of
the Perfians, that the rigour and auftere

living

$4 F E A S f S*

living in which they were bred, caiifect
them to prove fo fierce in war, and fo
fearlefs of death.

It is pleafant for friends to fhare the
goods of life ; but ye call banquetings
friendfhip, a thing quite foreign to har*
taony : I &tk glory by fcafts ; Alexander
fought this glory ; arid Lucius, who loft his
empire : but what prince that is wife or
king that is fober, doth the like 5 fliew
them to me* By feafts I gain favour
among the common people; fine price
for vile ware, to become a cook, to
pleafe other men's ftomachs, who will
magnify thee while thou giveft, but
When thou witholdeft, they will ceafc to
exalt thee, nay, deform thee, as covet-
ous, wretched, and miferablc, and if
poor, they will fay truly, there is no

harm

FRIENDSHIP* 65

harm in the man, faving that he is a
fool; and they will fhun thee and thy
houfe as a rock ; then fhalt thou prove
the faying of Horace, when the lees
wax dry in the cafk: the friends depart;
thefe dry fcoffers with their babling
and tittle tattle, forfake in time, for
there, is no place for upright men or
found judgment ; follow not a name thus
prophaned by evil means, which is in--
famy, but obtain for thyfelf friends who
will follow thee in adverfity, and who
do moll diligently frequent thofe houfes
which fortune hath forfaken. I abound
in friends: It is ftrange that thou only
fhouldft abound and have fuch plenty
of that thing whereof all other . men
have fuch fcarcity : whofo finds one good
friend in a ldng life, is accounted a very
E • ' diligent

66 FRIEN0SfiiP,

diligent traveller in fuch matters.— I ant
, fortunate in friendfhipj thou eanft not
know that, unlefs thou be unfortunate
in other things. My friendfhips are
aflured — then thy advfcrfity is afTured
alfo. — Thou mayft think thy friendfhips
allured, thou mayft joy with one and
grieve with another; or if debates hap-
pen among them, break thy faith with
either or with all : But thou fpeakeft of
acquaintance not friends* and to have a
multitude of meer acquaintance, is un-
worthy a mind capable of employment :
J One approved friend is a precious jewel,
; but common friends bury themfelves in-
worldly matters, and will not know thee
but in profperity; for, led by vile iate-
reft, and envious opinions, they negledt
, fo dear, fo precious a commodity. — 1£
thou haft fo divine a thing as a friend,

fee

FRIENDSHIP. 67

be diligent to preferve fuch a treafure $
love thyfelf if thou wilt be beloved, and
never fhrink from fuch a jewel: But
fome are fo difcourteous they cannot love I
their cankered minds when much made
of, do the more difdain ; and the better
they are dealt with the more dogged
they are. jkfothipg w faJb^^gLJg
known as ^ the J^Jrtjof nian^ it is in
many cafes an impenetrable as well as
an ungrateful foil : Plenty will come to
plenty, but in need, the friend is def-
criedj fearch therefore the depth of the
mind •> a good mind is a moft excellent
thing, it is gentle and loving, fincere
and candid, if fuch did inhabit the world
it would be holy, quiet, and virtu-
ous: if thou haft one fuch, it will be
fcarcely found in thy houfehold, for a
friend is oft nearer than a brother. Thou
E 2 mayeffc

68 BIRDS IN CAGES.

may eft feaft the birds of thy woods
and the fifties of thy rivers with joy,
and they will repay thee with the* re-
fponfive gratitude of their fweet notes,
and bring more melody to thy heart
than the tranfports of feigned friends and
the noife of many guefts. I (hut up my
birds in cages to entertain me within my
walls: Why doft thou deprive them of
that fpacious and wide country Provi-
dence has given them to range in ; § why
of that fweet liberty fb dear to every
living thing, and thus dull their notes
by finking their fpirits, and caufing them
to pine and flutter continually for want
of room and air*

Gluttony hath found out hunting*
hawking, and fifliing; it feemeth to
me that to leave the wild beafts to the

; . „ WOOds,

BIRDSINCAGES. 69

woods, the places formed for them, un-
lefs they roam out and invade thee, the
fifhes to the fea, and the fowls to the
air, were better than to bellow fo much
trouble on them ; which labour, if em-
ployed to catch virtues, ye might then
plant them in the clofets of your minds,
and they would not fly away, nor could
they be purloined from thence. I have
filled a large cage with birds : above
a thoufand years ago Lelius, furnamed
Strabo, not Lelius the Wife, who had
loft his name had he been the devifer,
contrived thefe wooden houfes for birds.
I have fpeaking crows : fo had Auguftus
Cnefar, to celebrate his triumph, for
which he gave large fums; but when
more fuch were prefented to him, he
anfwered, he had enough of thefe fa-
luters at home already. One of thefe
E 3 crows

70 SPEAKING CROW81

crows was fo docile that he ufed to fly
abroad into the open ftreet and falute
Tiberius Caefar, Drufus and Germa-
nicus, by name, and the people of Rome,
which wrought fuch love in them all f
that when a neighbour, moved either
with envy or anger for the difturbance*
killed him, the killer was driven away
and (lain, and the crow with diligent
exequies and folemn funeral was buried:
while in the fame city neither Africanus
the Great, had a fepulchre ; nor Afri-
canus the Lefs a revenger. Thus the
falutation of crows was more efteemed
than the deeds, the virtues, and the be-
nefits, of valiant men. I have a moft
eloquent pye: it has been faid of this
bird, that if (he forget the word fhe is
taught, (he is much vexed and grieved,
which fhe fheweth by mufing mourn-
fully;

PYES AND PARR0TTS. 71

fully ; and if fhe chance to recal it again,
then becometh fhe wondrous merry;
which if fhe can no ways do, fhq dieth
for forrow; the poet Homer's death,
if this be fo, is the lefs ftrange ; but
all pyes are not of fuch aptnefs:— •
as to finging birds, their notes .are far
pleafanter and only perfed: on their own
boughs; they mufe oft like the pye in
your prifons, for the lofs of air and li-
berty, two things moft fweet to all be-
ings, whether on the earth or in the
air: but ye, tyrants like, difcomfit all
nature, and never rejoice fo much as in
forbidden pleafures.

I have a fair parrot: this bird, above

all, is famous for his golden chain : the

Phcenix alone befides hath this emblem

E4 v of

72 NIGHTINGALE AND THRUSH.

of nature, who hath feemed to image
in him a flatterer, as faith the diftich,
I parrot will learn other men's names
of you, but I have learned this of my-
felf, to fay, hail Caefar ! and I prat-
tling parrot do call thee mafter, with fo
perfed: a voice that if thou looked not
on me thou wouldft deny that I was a
bird. Among my birds I have alfo a
moft pleafant finging nightingale : —
Pliny the Second reporteth, that there
were nightingales and darlings found,
that are to be taught different tongues,
and that in his time there was a thrufh
in Rome, that did imitate the voice of
man; nor is this incredible, for we
know that parrots, befides doing this,
will laugh in fuch fort, as to caufe all
the ftanders by to join in the fame ex-
ercife. But among all the birds haft

thou

PEACOCKS. 73

thou the Phoenix of whom I mention-
ed the report; whether there be fuch a
bird or not, I think thou doft lack this
among thy rare colledtion : . it is written,
that on the four hundredth year after
the building of the city, this bird flew
out of Arabia into Egypt, and being
taken there was brought to Rome, and
at an aflembly was fliewn to the people*

I have no Phoenix, indeed, but I have
ftore of Peacocks : by their tails I would
advife thee to think upon Argus's eyes,
leaft the evil, that followeth negledt of
good rules fhould light upon thee. I
confefs it is a beautiful and comely bird
to behold, but this pleafure of the eyes
is requited with great wearifomenefs of
the ears, again ft which it were needful
for men to run away, fo horrible it is, or

to

74 PEACOCKS.

to flop their cars with Ulyfles's wax ;
pot to add the grief of neighbours, and
their juft complaints. It is reported,
that Hortenfius the orator, was the firft
that ever killed a peacock at Rome to
be eaten for meat, a man of great elo-
quence, though in manners delicate and
foft as a woman ; whofe manners very
many, but whofe eloquence very few, do
imitate, of whom the poet thus fpeaks :
Thou putteft off thy cloaths, being full,
and carryeft thy undigefted peacock inttf
the bath; thus rawnefs, that is not di~
gefted, cometh by the enticement to
eat, and bringeth on ficknefs and death.
Leave every animal to their proper
places and their proper ufes ; thqfe that
are wild, to the woods, and the direction
of Providence for their haunts and their
deftination ; and domeftic animals to thofe

whofe

DOMESTIC ANIMALS, 75

whofe wide grounds and fields can
with wholefome and true care nourifh
them for thy table, and coop them
not up to fret, and wafte, and fcrape,
and litter, in thy fomll inclofures or
narrow courts: fuffer alfo the little
birds to live in the open air; there
to feed, to multiply, to fing, to ftretch
out their wings, and fmooth their little
breafts in joy : and ye, little babes, as faith
Solomon, turn ye at my rebuke, bring
them not to you to pine and die in your
domeftic prifons ; but rather go to them,
ftretch forth your flothful minds unto
heaven, and join in the full choir of
praife to that Power who created the
birds of the air, and the fifhes of the
fea, and man to govern them all, wifely
and kindly, for his good. In making $
ware to have fifh the more readily at
h$nd I furely have not tranfgreifcd ; — ■

this

j6 WARES FOR FISHES.

this folly is ancient alfo. — Murena made
wares for fifh, and Sorgius, and had the
names of thefe fifhes beftowed on them
forfo doing: a worthy caufe of a fur-
name, to wit, that one did love a gilt-
head, the other a lamprey: doubtlefs
they took no lefs pains in taking and
beftowing their fifh, than Scipio and
Paulus did in delivering and beautifying
their country ; and therefore came that
juft proverb, in quantity all mens cares
are almoft equal ; but in quality far un-
equal. Lucullus caufed a hill to be cut
away to inclofe fifhes, for which Pom-
pey the devifer of kingdoms, called him
the Roman Xerxes, that is to fay, a
digger away of hills. — One Curius,
otherwife unknown, had fo many lam-
preys that he furnifhed fix thoufand of
them for the triumphant fupper of Julius

Caefar.

LAMPREYS. 77

Csefar. Hortenfius the ofator (for learn-
ing doth not always abate fuch madnefs)
loved fo dearly one certain lamprey, that
he mourned for him when he was dead
as for a dear relatipn: he, that as we
read, neither bewailed the civil wars of
his time, nor the profcriptions of the
citizens, yet did he weep for the death
of a lamprey ! oh worthy love, meet to
provoke fuch a man to tears ! This
lightnefs is fo great in fuch a man as
almoft excufes the folly of later days*
Antonia, it is alfo faid, decked forth a
lamprey with rings and jewels of gold,
which ftrange fight brought many to the
village of Paulo lying on the confines of
Baai; fhe being young was excufable,
and alfo from her fex. There were
alfo wares made for fifhes between the
two bridges of the Tyber : I 'do not

for-*

78 • M O N It £ Y*

forbid thee the ufe of fifties from the
feas and from the rivers, their natural
and wholefome habitation; but I cen-
fure thy abufe, in imprifoning them, as
well as birds, and depriving them of their
liberty, and the enjoyment of their fhort
lives.

But may not one have a monkey for
entertainment within doors? If thou
canfl delight in filthinefs thou mayeft,
and in havock, for whatfoever he find-
eth in thy houfe he will caft it about and
fpoil it, as I have told thee of other ani-
mals much more of this : a houfe is not
its natural place, and beafts that are
beautiful and proper in their native
woods, or in large farms, are noifome
when inclofed in ftraiter places, and abo-
minable in houfes. You will not fay

this

this of dogs : If you mean fporting dogs ?
Truly I will ; and as to others, though
,a pleafant creature, and near to man as
it fhquld feem in thought^and love, yet
they breed care and caufe anger in the
houfe, fo that oft malice helps them
away for the trouble they caufe. Adrian
the emperor, ere&ed monuments for
dogs, and builded a city in the lame
place where in prolperous hunting he had
(lain a bear with his own hand, and
ufed many times to kill a lion. I delight
touch in hunting and in hawking $ the
exercife of hunting was peculiar fome
time' to the Latins, but now to the
t^renchrfcen ; to fpeak nothing of thole
kings whofe whole life was one perpe-
tual hunting : the chief king of thertt
aH, whenfoever he had any reft from
battle, hunted daily. At length toward

death,

Bo fiUNTIKG.

death, he fought to relieve the difcom-*
modify and wearifomenefs of age with
this exercife ; a ftrange relief, as it feems
to me, for laying error afide, which
gives honour to this employment, let
us reafon the matter : Is dwelling, as it
were, in woods with wild beafts, for
hunting may be faid fo to do, or with
dogs and birds, is this the true glory
and magnificence of foul ? They which
renounce liberal' ftudies let them repair
to the camp; but they are not quali-
fied, for ftudy and a foldier go together;
ye fhall read how Plato ftudied philofo-
phy ; how Homer travelled and obferv-
ed mankind; how Tully pleaded; and
how Caefar triumphed ; but ye never
read that they hunted; it feems great
labour indeed, and fo it is, of body, but
it argues a flothful mind :^ ye rife indeed

before

ft tJ N T I M 6. $t

before day, the ftir is as great as if the
enemy was at the threfhold; ye run
or ride about ponds and waters, lands
tilled and untilled, the hufbandman\«
honeft diligence ye overthrow ; ye beat
the woods and bu flies, terrify their in-
habitants, and even fill the air with your
noife and outcry; and at night. wh^n
ye come home, ye fit .within doors
caroufing and tell your, mighty deeds,
what you have maimed and what, you
have killed. — Thus you requite, your
Creator that made you; your country
that bred you; this is the way you fhew
your love for your parents, your friends,
and your family, by keeping from .them
all day, and rendering yourfelves ftttpid
and blockifli at night, when .you mould
delight them with pleafant and ufeful con-
vention; Livy's hiftory, TuUy's.ora-
F — tions,

~$2 HORSES.

tions, and the Divine Scriptures, are as
unknown to you, as the cannibals whofe
lives you imitate. Oh lay afide this
) folly, and contend not with barbarians
1 for fame, but with men. Horfes are
excellent creatures, arid horfes are made
tt) ride. There are many conditions of
horfes, and many dangers for the horfe-
men ; but riding with moderation ought
not to be condemned, it is good for health, .
while hard exercife is bad both for thee
and thy beaft, though much fought by
the great. There are many examples of
love to this noble animal : Alexander of
Macedon, eredted a tomb for his horfe,
and named a city after him ; Auguftus
did not build a tomb, but he made a
grave ; Antonius Verfus loved his horfe
fo immoderately that he caufed a ftatue
of gold to be made like him while he

was

HORSES. 83

was alive, and when dead, a fepulchre
builded in the Vaticum to bury him
among thofe holy bones: this feems as
incredible as monftrous, but it is true;
and the great poet Virgil, alludes to it
when he reprefents the fouls of fuch
men delighted with their horfe&in Hell.

Thefe vanitios are not the lefs but the
greater that can allure all minds thus to
them; nor is it only of old time, for a
Lord dwelling in Italy, whofe name I
will not utter to pofterity, becaufeof his
folly in this, and his good judgment.and
wit in better things, who, notwhhftand-
ing his weighty affairs, when his.horfe,
which he loved, was fick, he had him
laid upon a bed of filk, and a golden pil-
low put under his* head, while he him-
felf, being confined by appointment of
F 2 his

'his j^fi dans fdr the -gout, he.-iKfikirang
'dieif(©relefS f««himfcl£f from jesltrenie
* an&riety- fbirllis beaf£ being borne in, the
: iHristofhisfeWante^
ficians ' with , him,/ wen* twice o? ; ^thrice
every -day to vififc hisrfickt Jwrfo; apdad-
minifter medicine fo hihv fofr&wfully
iighing and gently ftroaking him with
his hand, and comforting him wkh kind
fpeeches; ao means; of phyfic .left he
uneflayecl that might relieve his .fick
friends Pbfterity ■ will call this a tale,
but it is tnie and .known of many; and
alfo that, a? this noble gentleman was
more careful for the good health of his
horfe than for his own, fo when the
poor beaft died, when his life could not
"be faved, either by the art of his phyfi-
cians confultiiig, br his friendship moft

ardently

H O -R 8 E S* 85

ardently exerted, and omitting not earth- ,
ly things id his behalf; he farrowed, for
him, and mourned as for a beloved

foR. -"' - : .:-" - "' ■" * * V •.:.. ,

Doth ndt the wife man defcribe, with
an energy fuited to this p&he|tic tale; the
fpirit, the mann£s$, 3ttg the carriage of
a noble horfe? In the moft eloquent
language he dotli:;.and I pray th?ey re-
adied -dfo. that ikying of the Hc^w
prophet, .it may .check thee 5 #* thy
rebuke, O God of Jacob, have they
fallen afleep that have got upon, their
horfes: weigh all things well, examine
every point, the fiercenefs of fomp horfes, ,
and their danger, . as well as the good-:
ne& and beauty of others : coiifider not
only the pleafant but alfo the rough paf*
Age* and thus preferve in thy condudt
F 3 toward

86 BOOK s.

toward this animal the golden mean. —
I poflefs an amazing collection of books,
for attaining this and every virtue, great
is my delight in beholding fuch a trea-
fure : Some get books for learning fake;
and many for the pleafure of boafting
they have them; and Who do fornifh
their chambers with what was invented
to fornifli their minds ; who ufe them no
otherwife than they do their Corinthian
, veffels, or their painted tables and ima-
/ ges, to look at : there be Others who ^
efteem not the true price of books as
they are indeed, but as they may- fell
them : a new pra&ice crept in among
the rich, whereby they attain one art
more of concupifcence. I have great
plenty of books; where fuch fcarcity has
been lamented, this is no fmall pof-
fcffion; it is a pleafant but a painful

burthen,

BOOKS. 87

burthen, and a delegable diftra&ion of
the mind ; for if thou doft ufe them thy
wit muft be bufied this way and that,
way 5 and thy memory troubled with this
matter and that matter. I delight paf-
ffionately in my books ; books have
brought fome men to knowledge, and
fome to madnefs ; whilft they drew out
of them more than they could digeft :
as fiillnefs fometimes hurteth the fto-
mach more than hunger; £0 faretht it
with wits : and as of meals, fo of books ;
the ufe ought to be limited according to
the ability : in all things that which is
a little for one is too much for an-
other: and therefore, a wife man feeketh
not quantity but fufficiency : for the one
of thefe is many times hurtful, the other
always profitable. I have an ineftima.-
ble many of books ! What thoufands
F 4 com-

88 BO OK s.

compofed the libraries of Ptolemy, and
the Alexandrian colle&ion, which were
all confumed. The great jpraife of Pto-
lemy, as I cteem, was, his eaufing the
Holy Scriptures, with great travel and
charge to be tranflated out of the He-
brew into the Greek tongue : not that
I cenfure the collections of great men,
but fay, that books were to be de-
stroyed, 'this one retained, would be a
greater treafure' than all the millions put
together that ever were published by
mortalman. But it is a great mark of
diftin&ion to be the pofleffor of a nume-
rous ftore of books : Truly, it is a gfeat
inheritance; fiifficient for many v^Its,
but 'well able to overthrow oiie ! Sdm-
monkiis,'wh!o was a man of wonderful
knbwledge, gave, when he died,- to .
Gordiiritis the younger, from the r friend- '

{hip

B O O K S. £9

(hip he bore his father,' threefcorc anfl :
two thoufand books * arid v this difpofi-
tion of them was fuperior to all the learn-
ing they contained, as much as gratitude
and friendfhip exceeds all the forms of la'-i
boured ftudy. But it might be ftudy that
led him to this aft of virtue; well-advif-
ed ftudy leads to &li virtue. But as for
fuch a quantity of books, I pray thee if
this good man had done nothing elfe in all
his lifetime, if he had never written any
thing, nay, had he never read a fingle
book, Xvould he not have had, doft thou
think, biifinefs enough to know what
the hooks were; their titles, their nartes,
the authbrs, and number of the vo-
lumes; fo that inftead of being a philo-
foph'er, he would have been a book-
keeper. But with many books many
ppihidns kre to be learned: yes, truly;'

gO HOLY SCRIPTURES.

and with them many errors, and much
wicked knowledge; fome repugnant to
nature, to equity, and to good manners;
fome oppofite to the liberal fciences, to
the truth of things really done in hiftory,
to virtu*, godlinefs, and the Holy Scrip-
tures : and where fo many matters are
handled, and falfehood is fo intermingled
with the fpecioufhefs of truth, the dif-
cerning of the latter becomes the more
hard and dangerous.

But many authors have wrote truly—
Admit the integrity of authors are not
all fallible, and is not ignorance and
flothfulnefs the lot of humanity ? I would
not be thought to cavil which I abhor;
but among the ruins of human inven-
tions* the Holy Scripture alone remain-
cth* both by means of the more fpecial

watch-

HOLY SCRIPTURES. 9-?

watchfulnefs and jealoufy of men over
it, but chiefly by the exprefs working of
God, its great author, who defended*
his holy word; his facred hiftory and
divine laws, and giveth continuance
unto his records of mercy. But the pu-
rity of this divine book does not exclude
the excellence of others. The excellence
of others I have fhewn thee is doubtful
and mutable : it does not exclude, but
it fo far overpaffes them both in matter,
didtion, and above all, in truth and per-
fection : of knowledge that their excel-
lence fhould be in comparifon moderately
efteemed, and ultimately proved by them.
By this would, not human learning be
loft or at leaft be difcouraged ? Haft thou
he^rd of one of late, not living in the
fields or woods 3 but which is the more
marvel, in a great arid flourifhiDg city

of

9« BOOK S. "

of Italy i o^ot a fhepheird, nor a plough-
man, btit a nobleman, ancl pne of great
credit alfo among th& pe&ple .where he
dwelt, whofwore that he- would give a
great fum of money, upon condition there
would never any learned dhan come and
dwell in the country where he inhabit-
ed. I truft thou doft not* accdfe me of
fuch a fiony heart and wicked voice as
this ? my aim is, thou fhouldeft hot vaunt
thee of books' thou haft not read ; and
like 9. gentleman 'puffed up with conceit,
and wfcH kndwri, that book, faith he,
is in- my ftudy;- iiieanihg' the perfons
prefent fhould underft'and a6 if ht faid,
, the feook isin my breaft^afid fo with
a'pfduiliaok call for- the rfft6ffikhfed fuf-
fmge of the gaping beholders at hte wif-
dam: Ala ^vho-pofltfs thefe pompous
jQoks,:;ahd'^ are a ri-

diculous

k&

B O O K s. 93

diculous kind of people, and are fo held
by the truly wife.

.". \ % . .' ......

Reckop not therefore the, tale of thy
books how long that will reach; but
feled: thofe that will-heft inform thee *
what thou art thyfel£ ;and , what thofe
**^ who live in the world thou doft inhabit,
: Caft not the reft away, there may be a
; feafon for fon# others of them; for the
; mind has its feafons as well as the earth;
and fpme variety in booksf is as neceffary
j to it as to all other things in life; it is
the too great [multitude 'that create im-
pediments to true knowledge, from the
difficulty of choice : : the diverfity of ways
many times deceive the traveller ; and
while one book maybe read with profit,
perhaps many may be turned; over to no
account : the pne trapflation of the king

*f

94 BOOKS.

of Egypt was the diadem of his mind;
in that he raifed a bleffing for pofterity;
to thy memory commit thy knowledge,
and fhut not up thy mind with the co-
verings of thy books ; and as to thofe
thou haft tied in chains, if they could
break away and ipeak, they would bring
thee to the judgment of their private
prifon ; there will they privily weep, and
that for fundry things; but efpecially for
this, that one covetous perfon hath fuch
abundance which he hides and ufes not,
while many that are really ftudious are
perilling in mind, for the lack of what
is fo dear, not merely to their eyes,
but moil precious to their hearts! , The
end of all reading fhould teach thee to
be patient with thofe manners around
thee thou canft not cure ; and to leave
unto the world the remedies thereof:

to

wit, 95

to eiftbracc love, to reverence the worthy,
and mildly to everpafs the reft as fo
many little flies, who, if thou doft not
mind, they will have not the power to
annoy thee : that thy life is for the care
of thy own proper bufinefs, not for the
care over the lives of others : fo fhalt
thou neither fear any, nor will any have
caufe to fear thee !

Many may fear my wit, for it is very
quick— I pray God it be quick unto vir-
tue; otherwife ldok how much the
"quicker the nearer to deftru&ion. I have
a moft ready wit ; if applied unto good
arts it is a precious furniture of the
mind! My wit is fharp: it is not the
- fharpnefs but the brightnefs and flaid-
riefs of the wit that deferves commenda-
tion : fmall wita appear keen, but they

are

$6 W 1 T.

are rebated with a .final! -force*, and fail
at the firft rencounters alfo, t;here is no-
thing more odious unt(> wifiiom than
fharpnefs, nothing fnore grievous to a
philofopher than & fophift* fo that it
. was anciently faid, that Pallas could not
•abide fpiders, whofe curious work and
fine webs being fo brittle, ferved to no
purpofe. ' My wit is propipt; take
heed it be not crafty ; for Salluft writeth
that Cataline was a man of notable cou-
rage, but of a corrupt and ready wit. I
require in thee a good and a modeffc
wit, rather than a great and a iharp
one? for a keen wit hath produced
.many evils, and feldom were there any
many errors but they fprung from great
wits- — I may fucely pride myfelf in my
fwiftnefs of body: Tell me whither thy
running tendeth ? My fwiftnefc is won-
derful!

SWIFTNESS. 97

derful! Run ye mortal men whither yc
lift, the fwiftnefs of Heaven outrunneth
you. Such fwiftnefs as mine hath
fcarcely been heard of! the fpace on
which it can exercife, will foon in-
clofe thee in thy running: and ad-
mit the whole earth were thine, thy
ilownefs would become no lefs certain!
My fwiftnefs at the prefent is ineftima-
ble, and is praifed by thoufands. — The
commendation of fwiftnefs may be due
to the foul, imt° which the feas, the
heavens, and eternity; the. fpaces of
nature, the hidden places, and fecrets
- of all things lie open : as for thy body,
whither its fwiftnefs tendeth when the
earth is, as it were, only a point in na-
ture, is known without aftrological con-
jecture or geometrical demonftration. — I
may well ufe it while I can, for I am now
G incre-

98 SWIFTNESS.

incredibly fwift ! — However thou mayft
excel all men, I doubt whether thou canft
match a hare in this fine quality of fwift-
nefs ? — Indeed my fwiftnefs is marvel-
lous ! — The fame accompanying many,
upon hanging hills and broken moun-
tain fides, hath difappointed them of the
plain ground; and many alfo that would
run* or as it were fly, by vaulting or
otherwife, upon the walls or battlements
of towers; upon the tacklings of fhips,
and upon the crags of hills: {hortly after
by fome little trippings or Hidings of the
foot, have been found dead in the high-
ways. To be true with thee, it is againft
the courfe of nature, that there fhould
be fuch uncommon lightnefs, in heavy
bodies ; and if this nimble feculty is pur-
fued, it will not long continue; for,
fhould a man cfcape unhurt, which is a

great

MEMORY. 99

great chance, yet it is an oUtftretch too
mighty for the nerves ; and will bring
much wearinefs, if not fccret damage
to the delicate fprings of life ! AD thp
fjpurs of youth are dangerous ; they ra-
ther need thofe bridles that come in with
age ; which by the former may be leap-
ed before-hand to deftru&ion. If it be
needful to moderate this extreme fwift-
nefs of body, can the memory be too
fwift ? — The memory may alfo be too
quick, and caufe thy mind to be a gal-
lery full of fmoaky images for want
of clearnefsj among fo many things*
the arrangement is difficult ; and but a
few can truly delight ! Is it not griev-
ous enough to have fcfcn or fuffered
evils, but they muft continually haunt
thy mind with their dreadful re-appear-
ances ? — I am indeed full of remem-*
G 2 brances !

100 MEMORY.

, brances ! What man can take delight in
thofe that are painful unlefs wholly free
from them : and of whom can this be
faid, I pray you ? No man can think on
poverty with eafe, but he that is rich ;
on ficknefs, but in health ; on prifon,
but at liberty; on labour, but in quiet;
on banifliment, but in freedom ! — My
memory is manifold, and containeth
much time. — Some things then muft
prick thy confcience, fome wound thy
heart, fome confound, fome terrify, fome
overthrow thee ! fo that thy face fhall
in filence mark the interchangeable red
and pale of thy foul, and this is frequent-
ly difcerned as well as felt. When one
offered to teach Themiftocles the art of
memory, he, in confeious humility an-
fwered, I had rather learn the art of for-
getfulnefs. What man fhould learn is,

to

VIRTUE. 101

to rejed all that is ufelefs in re mem- /
brance; and to retain, with cheerful-l
nefs, all that can profit and amend. — ■
Forget not thy fins, that thou mayft
forrow and repent; remember death,
that thou mayft fin no more; remember
the judgment of God, that thou mayft
juftly fear; and never forget his mercy,
that thou mayft never be led to defpair !

Is it not then lawful for me to boaft of
virtue ? — Admit it be lawful, yet it is only
fo to boaft of it in him who is the giver.
JBut the virtue I have gained by improve-
ment is my own. : — It is the property of
virtue to doubt, rather than to believe all
things of itfelf ; and to rife to the caufes \
that produced, rather than to glory in I
the things obtained. — The virtue of my
mind is great ! — Take heed, left the
G 3 greater

j

102 VIRTUE.

greater it be fuppofed, the lefs it be in-
deed : weigh thou not what is done, but
what ought to be done; not what ye
* have, but what ye want : true virtue
thirfteth continually, burneth, as it were,
\ to rife, and the more it doth fo, the
1 poorer it ieemeth to itfelf ; for in this
afcent, hill beyond hill appears; and
when ye think ye are at the fummit, ye
have yet a vaft fpace to penetrate. I
feel that my virtue is greater than is
accuftomable to obtain. — I fear me,
Jeaft this boafting proceed rather from
pride than from virtue $ no renown is fo
•great that pride will not obfcure : this
doth he know to be true, who being
created bright, fhining, and renowned,
became from an angel of light, the
prince of darknefs. In this fhort life
virtue cannot be perfect, for life is a

war-

Virtue. . 103

warfare, not a throne! and whoever
thinketh he is come to the top, is the
loweft of all, as by fo doing he forfaketh
the path that leadeth thereto ; for there
is nothing fo contrary to profit as the
opinion of perfe&ion. No man endea-
voureth to do that, which he fuppofeth
done already. — My virtue is real; as far
as the capacity of man reacheth.—
Take thy paft life and lay it down \
before thine eyes; and, being an uncor- \
tupt judge in thy own caufe, require of
thyfelf an account of all thy words,
thoughts, and deeds, through every day,
and then (halt thou fee how little real
there k in thy mind : perhaps it is filled
with vices, or at beft with errors; if
thou have any goodnefs rejoice humbly
therein, and know, that if thou thinkeft
thyfelf great, thou muft have rode on
G 4 fome

104 W I S DO M.

fome flying horfe to be fo foon wife be-
fore thy time. As for me, fays a great
man, I do not think I have attained, or
am become perfedt! and another 5 thine
eyes have feen my imperfection ! many are
learned, but few are wife; ye have heard
what is included in that wifdom that
cometh from above ! Can ft thou fay all
this of thyfelf? Solomon could not,
though reputed the wifeft of men ; but
how he failed in one part of his life,
his many wives and concubines, and
his worshipping of falfe gods, fheweth.
Socrates, of meer men was alone judged
wife, by the Oracle; and he was near
to it ; but even he offered to a falfe god,
knowing, as it is thought, and believ-
ing in the true ! So that it has been
juftly faid, no man has been wife or
perfect ij} this world: they have exercifed,

but

WISDOM. I05

but have not completed : as for our age,
it is more happy than the age of the wife
men ! they could reckon up but feven
they thought truly deferving of that
name; but in every town now, there are
fiich multitudes, that they are like to
flocks of fheep: nor is it any marvel
there fhould be fuch numbers; feeing
they are fo eafily made ! There cometh
a foolifh young man to the church, his
matters praife and extol him, either from
love or ignorance: he fwelleth and
marcheth proudly; the people gaze *at
him aftonied, his kinsfolks and friends
can fcarce contain their joy! he being
willed, getteth up into the pulpit, and
overlooking all from on high, murmureth
out, no one can tell what! but they ex-
tol him with praife to heaven as one that
hath fpokeh like a god ! In the mean

time

106 RELIGION.

time the bells jingle, the trumpets rattle,
rings fly about, kifles are given, and a
piece of a black round cloth is hung on
his fhoulders ; wlien all this is finifhed,
down cometh the wife man, that went up
a fool ! Thus are wife men made now-a-
days ; but a wife man indeed, is made
otherwife. I myfelf entered once into
holy orders ; I glory in my perfect Re-
ligion ! the roclf of true Religion is
Chrift, by which man is tied to God; it
- ingrafteth humility and rooteth out pride :
| here thou canft not rejoice tod much !
■ for the diredfc path from this mortal life to
the life everlafting is here fhewn thee— ^
I thank God for it — Thou haft faid well ;
be thankful indeed, by keeping it from
the errors of negligence, and the guilt of
fin ; then fhall the controverfy ceafe
what is Religion ? I poffefs j and all men

(hall

K E L I GI O N. IO7

(hall behold it in me ! It is not the ring "
of gold, the fcarlet veftment, or the im-
perial purple ; it is not accoutring - the
body with the burnifhed harnefs, or the
hand with the glittering fword ! it is not
building the coftly temple or fplendid pa-
lace, pleading the niceft caufe, managing ,
the fierceft courfer 5 fleering the nobleft
fhip through the daunting tempeft;
plunging into the bottomlefs ocean for
its conceal'd ftores ; or rufhing into the
fmoke of the fierceft battle, to maintain
or to advance to empire ! that will give
Religion and wi£bm ! or fcve from de-
finition, with a proud heart feeking its
own applaufe ! But to be well reported
of by others, (hews defert and gains
friends, even of thofe that are abfent.
My good fame hath done this.

Report

lo8 GOOD REPORT.

Report made Mafiniflb known to
Scipio ; fo that he that was wont to be
the leader of all the Carthagenian horfe-
men againft the Romans, became, after-
ter wards, General of the Roman horfe-
men againft the Carthagenians ; and
not only gained the hearts of his private
enemies, but alfb of thieves and of
. pirates ; the common enemies of all :
for the glory of his name drew them to
the place of his exile, where, according
to their ufual roughnefs, forcibly rufh-
ing in upon him, they appeared to him
at the firft fight moft terrible ; but per-
ceiving themfelves to be fufpedted, lay-
ing afide their fierce looks, fetting apart
their weapons, and fending away their
guard, they conformed themfelves to
unaccuftomed mildnefs; and only the
chief of thefe thieves came up to him,

to

GOOD REPORT. IO9

to»the intent to worfhip him as a God !
and make a church of his houfe !
They wearied his victorious right hand
with many kifles, hung up their gifts ,
in the porch of his houfe, as if of-
fered upon the altars of their Gods,
according to their country cuftom, and
rejoicing, as if they had feen a heavenly
vifion, they departed in tranfports of
content ! This happened, indeed, unto
Scipio from report; but where wilt
thou find a Scipio now ? Report hath
won me friends beyond the Alps, and
beyond the feas ! Thou muft then have
acquaintance in the mid- way between
earth and heaven ! I pray thee, what
colonies are thofe thou fpeakeft of; for
no travellers have conveyed to me the
account of fuch. It may be, the moon
may have Jiad tidings of thee alfo ; for

the

110 AMPHITHEATRE.

the vanity of man reacheth, indeed, be-
yond the furface of the earth \

If fame is of no ufe, why are the
plaudits in the amphitheatres, and the
admiration of their fuperftrudtures, fo
general ? The cruelties done there, and
the grievous accidents, ought rather to
have furniflied groans and tears ; and yet
the great and good Prince Auguftus, a
ftrange error in fuch a mind, appointed
a place thpre for the vcftal virgins, whofe
chaftity was fuch, that nothing was
more perfect, no fame fo tender, none
fo revered ! infomuch, that all geftures,
almoft all motion, all trimming of the
body, all talk -not divine, was in theni
feverely reprehended and punilhed, A
thoufand couple of fencers appeared at
once at the amphitheatre for the fight ;

flocks

MARBLE PILLARS. Ill

flocks of elephants and tigers, lk>ns f
leopards, wild afles, and rampant horfes,
with other ftrange beafts fent out of de-
farts, parks, and forefts, from every
part of the world; and fiich was the
fumptuoufnefs of the building for thefe
fhews, that huge pillars of marble were
brought by land and by fea, carved with
infinite fkill, proudly polifhed on the
tops, and their branches glittering with
fine gold. Three hundred and three-
fcore of thefe monftrous pillars wert
brought in to finifh a work the greateft
ever made by the hands of man ; info-
much that the amazement and the loud
outcries of joy from the throng, ftunned,
and almoft petrified the numberlefs fpec-
tators : nor did this madnefs ceafe here ;
for fuch was the number of works that
arofe in imitation, that there was no-
thing

112 ROME*

thing, in all the whole world fo to be
wondered at as Rome. To aggrandize
this famous city the very bowels of the
earth were pierced, the flints digged up,
the hidden rocks difcovered, rivers taken
out of their foft beds, and conveyed
away in pipes, the fretting fea fhut in
or out as was required, and with great
banks torn from itfelf ! the mountains,
being undermined, their tops were left
hanging, as it werq, in the air, without
fupport, and the bottom of the fea,
with all its inhabitants, fporting in
freedom ; this was alfo fearched and in-
vaded. Moreover, to the end there
may want no kind of mifchief, what
bloody (laughter, not only of private
men, but of whole multitudes, do hap-
pen at thefe fhews. The profufe laugh-
ter at the beginning, turned into griev-
ous

AMPHITHEAT RE. 1 1 3

ous forrow in the end, when the dead*
bodies were carrying along with the
weepers that belonged to them, follow-
ing in woe. There is alfo much danger
in fuch a weighty mafs of people ; and it
hath happened more than once, that the
buildings ftrength, though it appeared
great, was not equal to the load placed
on it ; as chanced under Tiberius, the
Emperor, at a notable fhew at the city
Tidena, thou muft have heard how, by
the fall of theampitheatre there, twenty
thoufand perfons were killed in one day, ,
The expences that by thefe ftrudtures
were brought on the common wealth,
were incredible, and no lefs the toiling
care of the builders, and the agonies and
death of the workmen by accidents and
by cruel fatigue; alfb pofUy pleafent
odours, £0 much cried up by the delicate,
H might,

114 ODOURS.

might, how ftrange foever it may appear,
be well included in this view of folly
and expence : for on fuch occafions they
were the more profufely ufed ; it may be,
as is their general intent, to put away
other fmells, and on this account they
are always to be fufpedted. The Afly-
rians, the Arabians, and the Sabei, when
they were vanquifhed by your weapons,
overcame you with their odours $ which
the rough and invincible fobriety of your
forefathers refifted fo long, that the five
hundred, three fcore, and fifth year after
the founding of the city of Rome, pro-
vifion was made by a ftridt edidfc of the
cenfbr, that no man fhould bring fweet
foreign ointments or odours into the
city. Lacedamon alfo, which I call the
Grecian Rome* refifted thjs infection of
odours, as if they had been aa army

coming

ODOURS* II5

coming againft,them. I thought Tweet
odours kept off infe&ion. Thofe who
think odours wholefome, are deceived :
all fmells, even the perfume of inclofcd
flowers, that call forth the nerves tod
ftrongly, are hurtful, and are known to
be^lb by well judging men in thefe mat-
ters ; and as a covering for other fmells
are offenfive to the fenfes of many, and
above all to the valiant : a young man
fo perfumed coming before the Emperor
Vefpafian, to give him thanks for the
office which he had beftowed upon him,
as he flood before him, the Emperor
perceiving the fmell, and difdaining the
wearer, with a ftern countenance and
rough voice, I had rather, faid he, thou
jiadft fmelt of garlick ; - and, fo well
checked (cancelling the letters Wherein
he had granted him his good will) he
"' Ha fent

Il6 ODOURS.

fcnt him away fruftrate of his appoint-
ment, in foil liberty to enjoy his plea-
fant odours. To fome they have
brought another fort of danger; this
happened fo Plautius, a fenator in the
trium viral profcription, who, for fear of
death, hiding himfelf in the falernitone
4ens, was bewrayed there, by the fmeli
of his ointments, purchafing thereby to
himfelf definition ; and to the profcri-
bers excufe of their cruelty \ for who
would not judge that he wa6 juftly (lain,
who, in fuch troubles of the common
wealth, and fo great danger of private
men, would fpend time in decking him-
felf up with fweet fmelling odours ? I
cannot but lay I am well affe&ed to
thefe pleafant odours ! Leave them off,
if thou wilt follow my council, both for
thy health and thy horiefty ; for every

artificial

ODOURS. I17

artificial ufe is fomething againft nature, I
and not quite forcing with a true mind. *
Read what is written ^concerning this,
both by the Greeks and the Latins, and
confider the legions of vices that came
in with fweet odours. But may Inot
with reverence notice, that Jefus Chrift
allowed his feet to be bathed with pre-
cious ointment ! Verily it was not the
delight of odours, but the delight in
the affe&ion and tears of the offerer,
that caufed Jefus to permit this anoint-
ing : he faw the humility of the giver,
and he would not repulie the gift dire&-
ed by the cuftom of die country as pre-
cious, and a witnefs of the heart that
prefented it ; to whom a mine of gold ,
would have been drofs for the love of
Chrift : be then, like her, lowly, hum-
ble, and difinterefted, and odours ihall
H 3 not

II& WRITING OF BOOKS.

not be required to give thee glory. I
defire no praife for trifling ornaments.
But fay that I write well, fhall not that
bring me glory ? There is no end of
books, faith the wife man, and in much
ftudy is much wearinefs -, yet they fhould
write that have Ikill and are able ; and
thofe who have not, fhould read and
hear. If there is fome danger in giv-
ing the fenfe of others, what is it to
compofe and fet forth the 'hidden
thoughts of the mind* We may in-
fedt, or affedt, but can we refrefh ? can
we inform ? can we lighten the heavy
burthen of the mind ? fubdue the ftuh-
born purpofe of the will ? if we can,
we write glorioufly \ otherwife it may be
faid with Cicero, dried puddles, and no
fountains, fpring from their pens. — •
There are fome who writer who would

have

WRITING- OF BOOKS. II9

have done well to go to plough, to keep
fheep, to drive the fhuttle, or to play
the, mariner ; and likewife many handi-
crafts men have been worthy to become
philofophers ; and lome that were born
in the fields, or under hedges, or on
ftalls, and in fhops ; on the wallet of
the foldier, or on the netting of ihips,
were deferving of everlafting fame !
whereby it cometh to pafs, that they
who are ignorant of thefe hidden caufes,
do wonder if in the. middle of the fea,
in the village, in the* woods; there be
found fharp and quick wits, while in
the fchools many are dull and blockifh.
If writing be to profit pofterity, there is
nothing better ; if to get a name only,
there is nothing worfe ; fuch feek wind
without fails; and to them it maybe
iaid, Sailors, not thee, fhould defire the
H 4 conveyance

120 FREEDOM.

conveyance of that element. My writ-
ing fhall be accounted of, for that which
gives vigour to the fpirit is my lot. I
was born in freedom. He is not free
that is born, but he that dieth ; fortune
hath power over him that cometh into
the world, but none over him that is
gone out of it — fhe, overthroweth ftrong
cities, /he, vanquifheth valiant armies :
fhe, fubdueth mighty kingdoms! the
grave is an impregnable caftle, there the
worms bear rule, and not fortune -, whofo
therefore hath ftept into that liberty, of
all men they are alone free from the in-
fults of this life : thou boafteth thyfelf
to be free, and knoweft not whether
thou (halt enter this day a freeman, I
fay not into thy grave/ but into thy
chamber; thy liberty hangeth by a weak
thread; as do all things wherein ye

firmly

FREED O M. 121

firmly truft. I am a free man ! For this
caufe, I fuppofe thou caljeft thyfelf a
free man, becaufe thou haft no matter ;
but hear what Seneca faith; Knoweth'
thou not at what age Hecuba and Crefus,
and the mother of Darius, and Plato,
and Diogenes; came into bondage ? Or
doft thou forget Reguhis and Valerianus,
the one made Have to the Carthagenians;
the other to the Perfians; the one con-
fumed with fervitude, the other put to
a cruel death* What (hall I lay of
Syphax and Perfius, the kings of Mace-
don and Numedia, who fell down from
the top of their kingdoms, into the
Roman fetters. How many in thy own
age have been thurft out of the court
into prifon ; how many kings made b6nd
Saves, the happier in freedom, the more
miferable in bondage; be not p^oud,

therefore,

122 FREEDOM.

therefore, of thy liberty, it is a moft
fweet thing indeed to enjoy, but the lofs
of it is the more to be doubted ; for the
face of human things change daily.
Neither think thyfelf a free man be-
caufe thou haft no matter, art born of
free parents, waft never taken prifoner in
war, nor fold for a flave. Ye have invin-
cible matters of your minds, hidden ene-
mies and inward wars ! x for a fmall price
ye miferably fell your fouls to fin, and
are tied to vile pleafures with indiffolu-
*ble chains. Go your way, vaunt of
your freedom, judge him to be bound,
fubjedt to one mortal mafter ; but as for
* him that is opprefled with a thoufand
immortal tyrants, him ye account free !
Even finely as ye do make judgment of
other things; verily it is not fortune

FREEDOM. 123

that maketh a man free, it is virtue : if ,
thou be wife, if thou be juft, if thou
be modeft, if thou be patient, if thou
be intrepid, if thou be godly, then thou
art free indeed ! I am not only free
myfelf, but I was born in a free and
famous country: thou haft alfo known
countries, and cities that have been en-
flaved as well as men. Of ancient ex-
amples, the moft free cities of Lacede-
mon and of Athens, firft fuffered a
civil, and afterward a foreign yoke. The
holy city of Jerufalem, the mother of
everlafting liberty, was in temporal fub-
je<3ion to the Romans and the Aflyrians j
and is now in captivity to the Egypt-
ians ; and Rome itfelf, not only a free city,
but the lady of nations, was firft en-
slaved to her own citizens, and after-
ward to the moft vile perfons : fo that
no man can ever truft to his own free-

124 NOBLE COUNTRY.

dom, or to the freedom of his empire.
I was born in a glorious country, then
will it be fo much the harder for thee
to face the light, for the fmall ftars do
fhine by night, but they are dull in the
beams of the fun. My country is
noble. By what nobility, is the ques-
tion ? for a country is made noble, by
the number of inhabitants, by the
abundance of wealth, by the fertility of
the foil, and the commodious fituation ;
by wholefome air, and clear lprings ; the
fqa nigh, fafe havens, and convenient
rivers. That is commonly called a noble
country, that is fruitful of wine and
other commodities, as corn, cattle,
flocks of fheep, herds of udder beafts ;
and mines of gold and filver. We call that
a good country wherein are bred ftrong
hades, fat oxen, tender kids, and plea-

fant

NOBLE COUNTRY. 12$

fant fruits: but where good men are
bred, yc neither enquire after nor think
it worthy the enquiring; howbeit, it is
the virtue of its citizens that conftitutes
the glory and fafety of a country; and
therefore Virgil, in defcribing the Ro-
man glory, did not fo much as touch
upon the former; but fpoke of the might
of the empire, the valour of the people,
and the ftrength of their children,

I rejoice in my noble country. —
What if thou art obfcure in fuch a
noble country, or perhaps vile; thou
ihalt then be the fooner marked. — -

My country is very, famous. r

Cataline had not been fo infamous,
or Nero, had they not been born in
fo famous a country.— I am of a well-
known

126 GLORIOUS COUNTRY.

known country. — Unlefs thou glifbr of
thyfelf this will bring thee into darknefs.
v Among fo many eyes there is no lurking;
knoweft thoi* not the faying, I had ra-
ther thy country were known by thee
than thou by thy country; nay, even
then, there is no fame without the con-
tempt of the ignorant or the envy of the
proud, the firft is the fafer, the other
the more famous evil : many that might
be named, had they remained buried in
fbme poor corner, would have been
great there, who, fhewing themfelves,
were difparaged. The anfwer of The-
miftocles to a man who afcribed his fame
to his city is pertinent : verily I, fhould
not be obfcure there ; nor thou renown-
ed: Plato, on the contrary, as great
Y?its fometimes have great errors, gave
thanks for many things and in that he

did

GLORIOUS COUNTRY. 12J

did well : he gave thanks to nature for
making him a man and not a beaft ; of
the male kind, and not a Woman ; an
Athenian, not a Theban;. and laftly,
that he was born in the time of So-
crates. Some learned men have thought
this an error in Plato, ' and I do in
part agree with them ; for I pray thee
to what purpofe is it to rejoice in thefe
things, as if Providence governed only
fuch and fuch times, and loved only
fuch and fuch perfons ! Does not he go-
vern all ? is not the Barbarian and the
Scythian, great cities and fmall villages,
the wife and unwife, the bond and the
free, all his ? Have there not been many
Barbarians that have excelled many Gre-
cians, both in virtue and in wit? have
jiot fome women furpafled in» glory and
in invention certain men, and been more

com-

128 NOBLE CITIES.

commendable ? and to be fhort, fuppof-
ing Plato had been an ox or an afs, how
fhould that have belonged! to Plato, who
would not then have been Plato, but that
thing which nature had framed : unlefs
perhaps, he gave credit to the opinion
of Pythagoras, that fouls pafled out of
one body into another, which his deep
philofophy muft furely queftion; and
which our religion does deny, Alfo why
was it fo noble a matter to be born at
Athens, that no other place was equal,
no not Thebes ! Were not Homer and
Pythagoras himfelf, Democrates and
Anexagoras, and Ariftotle, and thou-
fonds of great men, born elfewhere; and
if they feek for wit, was not the poet
Pindarus born at Thebes ; who, as Ho-
race fayeth, cannot poffibly be matched
by imitation: and though Thebes was.

, defpifed

THESE 3. t2<$

defpifed by the Grecians, did it not pro-
dace Epaminondas, that excellent phi-
lofophcr, and molt valiant captain, And
in the opinion of all mien, through
every age, prince and' chief of all the
Grecians. He Who alnioft utterly fub-
Verted the Lacedemonians, and put
Plato's countrymen, the Athenians, intb
ftff h fear, that when he w&s dead, being'
delivered of z great terror, they gave
tfiemfelves up to licentidufnefs aiad floth,
and while this great man adorned
Thebefr, hoW many thoufands of fools
lived at Athens* Plato ought there-
fort to have given thanks, not that he
was born at Athens, but born with,
fuch a wit, fuch a mind, fuch good
liking of his parents, and ih fuch plen-
ty> that- they were enabled to get hifti
itfftiMed iii all goodnefs^; for theffc

IJO ATHENS,

things it behoved fo learned a man zea-
loufly to have given thanks unto that
God which had beftowed them on him :
not for Socrates or Athens, Let it be alfp
recolle&ed, that in that fchool, among
many others, were Alcibiades and Cre-
tias; the one an enemy to his coun-
try, the other a moft cruel tyrant,
to whom how much their mailer So-
crates availed let Plato anfwer me ; or
elfe underftand that the dodtrine of an
earthly fchoolmafter, however great, as
was Socrates, by univerfal confent, is
not to be vaunted as beyond all things,
fince that only belongs to the gracious
an<l heavenly fchoolmafter,

I live not only in a free country* but
in a large city: the difcommodities of
a large city are many; the church is far

off,

ortEAf ditiis. 13I

bff, the market far off; the artificers and
our friends are diftant ; the one hurtful
to the mind, the other to the body.-
There is no harder diftande than this i
when it is painful to vifit, and difcourte-
fy to negledt, Doft thou remember how
Horace domplaineth of this ; one of my
friends, fays he, liveth upon the hill
Quirinus, the other at the furthermoft
part of Aventine, and both of them
muft be vifited:. at fuch diftances,
whenfoever thou determined to travel
abroad, difpofe of thy affairs* and fet
thy houfe in order, for thou art uncer*
tain whether thou fhalt return or not ;
and in fuch wandering, men go as it
were into another world, and have rie^d
of a loadftone to diredt their courfe.—
This way is the eafieft, but that is the
I a readieft

I32 GREAT CITIES,

feadieft way; the place of judgment
thou muft pafs in one, the crouded
theatre in the other ; the market and its
dirt in a third. Thefe, and a thoufand
more are the rocks and dangers of cities;
which when thou pafleth through to
return tQ thine own houfe, thou
runneft the rifk of- coming thither again
in fafety. Philip the. Orator, when in
years complained that the fhips were too
' far off from , the place of judgment ; all
thefe troubles are wanting in a fmall
town, and the other difcommodities that
are already alledged.

I was firfi in a. fmall town, but I re-
moved into a great city. Then thou
didft launch out, of a quiet haven into
a rough fea: with great men it may
profper, with fmall it -may prove a rafh-

nefsj

OHXAT CITIES. *3jf

ntfs : the Claudii did the like in coming,
from the Sabdnes to Rome; Marcus
Gato from Tufculum ; Marius aftd Ci*
cero from Arpine 5 and they gained feme
by fo doing ; but where ihall we find
fiich men who would have been great
wherever they had been ? thou (halt
have many witnefles inftead of a few*
and thofe of found judgment to try thee*
endeavour thou that thy little good doth
not periih in the removing, fo that the
beauty of thy new country, inftead of
brightening doth not caft a cloud over
thee. It can fcarcely do that, for I
come of an honourable family* and that
' will advance me ! To infinite trouble and \
probable difgrace; for nothing bewray?-
eth the ftains of pofterity more than the
glory and brightn^ft of their abeeftdiis.''
My blood is Of grfcat ctear nefs.^AH bfobd t

1 3 is

\

J 34 NOBLE BLOOD.

is for the moft part of the like colour ;
but if there be any clearer than other, the
nobility hath not caufed it, but health.
My parents are of great honour-and inte-
grity .-^Integrity doth not often defcend !
in truth it is quite diftindl from patrimony
and heritage. How much more noble
than his father was Caefar ; how much
more obfcure than his father, the fbn of
Africanus ! A father may love and make
rich, but he cannot make noble ; vile
fubftance may be tranfmitted which be^
longs to, and which may obfcure heirs ;
but the invifible rays of glory fhine not
out nor are tranfmitted by the power of
mortal dire&ion.

J am of great earthly note. Then
thou art deprived of the fweet tranquil-*
lity of living fecret, and put of know-.

ledge?

NOBLE BLOOD. I35

ledge : whatfoever thou doft; the people
will talk of it, how thou liveft at home,
and how thou feafteth at dinner and
fupper, thy neighbours will covet to
know f and not only the order of thy
daily diet, but the fecrets of thy family ;
what thou doeft with thy children, what
with thy fervant, how thou behaveft to
thy wife; even the leaft word thou
fpeakeft of the fmalleft matter, and they
will the moft do this, who have the
leaft to do with thee ! This is the fruit
of thy clear blood and thy nobility; that
if thou tread thy fhoe never fo little awry,
thou fhalt be called the fhame of thy
ftock, and a bafe degrader of the path
which was trodden before thee into
honour and dignity, Deferved nobility
k not gotten by the birth, but by the
life; and. many times by the deaths of

I 4 many

J$6 *JQgL? ?LOOP.

many noble families paft there is no
memorial left. Time diminifheth every
thing: families, cities, yea the world
itfelf ! the beginning of man is one,
there is but one father of mankind : all
flew from one fountain, which pafleth
fome time troubled, and fbme time clear ;
unto all on this condition, that which
was clpar becomes ob/cure, and the ob-
fcure is made clear : ypheflefors he that
was wont to, ride proudly through the
midft of the city, managing his fierce
courfer with a golden bridle, now driveth
his flow oxen up and down the fields
with a fimple goad. There is no king,
faith Plato, but he comes of low degree,
and none of low degree but he comes of
kings ! and how much $ wife peafant is
better than a foolifh nqb}pman, thow
fealt knpw when theu haft experienced

how

NOBLE BLOOp, I37

how bard it is tQ found, how> eafy to
overthrow nobility ! The wheel of
mortal things turns fwift ; but its courjfe
being Long, this Abort life perceiveth it
not ; elfe the fpades of longs, and th^.
jfcepters of clowns might be well dif-
perned ; leave of therefore to colour thy
narafi with other men's virtues, leaft if
eyery one require his ,pwn thou be
laughed at for thy own nakednefs. I
fpeak it not willingly, but experience
iheweth, that feldom the ion of an ex-
cellent man is excellent !

I enjoy in this admirable country, a
great eftate, and I have a very fruitful
land. Underftand the power of him
that maketh it fruitful, and fo ufe the
heavenly gifts then thou difpleafe not
the giver of them. Let not thy plenty
driv^ away thy fobriety and the modefty

of

I38 FRUITFUL LAND.

I of thy mind : but let thy friends and
the poor partake of thy fruitfulnefs. I
hufband moft excellently my land. Hus-
bandry in old times was the moft holy
and innocent life. It is likely that huf-
bandmen were the laft that did become
wicked; but now I fear that townifh
villanies have crept intocountry cottages.
The art of hufbandry was in great ef-
teem among wife men ; and the poet
fays, When juilice forfook the earth,
fhe left her laft footfteps among hufband-
men. Gato the Cenfbr was held to be
the moft excellent hulbandman in his
time, though a fenator, orator, and cap-
tain : who will then be afhamed to till
the ground with Cato who had triumph-
ed for conquering Spain ! Who would be
afhamed to call to his oxen when that
revered voice drove them along the fur-
row!

FRUITFUL LAND. I39

row ! who would' difdain the plough and
the harrow made noble by hands that
had wielded the fword, wrote on phllo-
fophy, and gathered together the pre-
cepts of hufbandry ! I will not prefer
this occupation however to the liberal
arts : yet it feemeth to me, that if Cato
could find time for it, other excellent
perfons may, for recreation, graft the
tender twig upon the budding ftock,
or corredt the lank leaves with the;
crooked hook, or lay'quickfets into the
dyke in hopes of encreafe, or bring the
iilver ftreams by new digged furrows
into the thirfty meadows : but not dig
and delve as if it were their trade, feeing
their minds may be framed for more
noble exercifes; that good mother
nature gave many arts unto men, and
with them the different wits and dif-

pofitions;

149 HUSBANDRY.

petitions ; and every one ihould follow
that to which fhc has inclined him. A
philofopher may not contend with him
that fails over the feas at his own art :
induftry here would be vain, however
fuperior in great matters thou wouldft
be overcome in final!, and be a bootlefs
contender. I have trimmed my vine-
yard exquifitely. Ancient men were of
opinion that hu&andry ftiould be well
followed, but not too well ; the profit
not being equal to the charge of fuch
over doing: this may feem incredible,
but it is true : they compare a man and
a, field, thefe twain, fay they, if they be
fumptuous are profitable at firft, but af-
terward become barren and poor. This
fummer my field hath been very fruit-
ful } mark the next : haft thou made
agreement with the froft, or with the

hail ;

HUSBANDRY". 14!

hail \ with the* cranes, and the wiid
geefe, with the mice and the rats ; thou
fhalt be hoft to fowls and worms, and at
fervant to thy reapers and thy threfliers:
plenty this year is oft a token of fcarcity
the next. Thy corn will belong to
many ; the carefulnefs to thee : the fields
t6 fpeak truly, fhould be thy mind ; the
tillage thy intent: I had rather thou
didft till thy felf ; for thou fhalt make
fat that earth thou now talleth. Till
what compafs of it thou wilt, thotf
fhalt have but a few feet of ground fop
thy inheritence : and as Horace faith,
among the trees thou haft planted,, none
fhall follow thee their fhort-lived maftery
but the difinal cyprefs ! I have ftore oB
pleafant green walks, with trees fhading
themmoftfweetly! Thofethatbeftudiou*
of virtue, and thofe who give themfelve*

up

142 . GREEN WALKS.

up to voluptuoufnefs do equally, though
differently, delight in ftiadowy with-
drawing places : when a great orator
objected adultery againft a vile man, he
defcribed the pleafantnefs of the place
where it was committed* Aim thou at
a mind, that fhall beautify the place
thou doth refort to: all felicity lieth in
this.— -Who hath not heard of the fecret
walks of Tiberius, and the withdrawing
place of Caprea, which I gtrieve to men-
tion ! how glorious was a poor banifhed
man, one Scipio, he breathed the air of
liberty, he had that delicious ftate of
mind, on the hills and in the valleys of
his banifhment, that made it a paradife :
therefore thofe that commend folitary
places, which are indeed delightful,
flbould add, if the mind is clear enough
to enjoy them. Truly I walk in moft
pleafant places. And what are the cares

that

GREEN WALKS. 143

that walk with thee,; what fkilleth it
to put unfavouiy ointments into ivory
boxes, or foul minds into fair places.
How many holy fathers have flourifh-
ed among craggy mountains; how many
vile adulterers have rotted in the green
meadows ! befides, to vaunt thyfelf of
any place is folly ; they were as yefter-
day not thine, and may be another's to-
morrow; they are to thee in hazard, as
places out of thy reach : doft thou praife
the Alps becaufe they are cold in fum-
mer ? or the mountain Olympus becaufe
it is higher than the clouds ? or the hill
Appenine becaufe it beareth fine trees ?
truly no ; they are not thine ! no more
are the places thou praifeft allured: fome
by tarrying too long, and taking too
much air in them, have loft their lives ;
they are alfo the chofen fpots of murder-
ers!

144 GREEN WALKS.

ers ! Who readethnot in Quintus Cur-*
tius, of the mofl: pleafant groves and
woods; the fecret walks and arbours
which the kings of die Medes planted
with their own hands ; for in thefe took
they chief delight, and all their nobles;
howbeit, at the command of a drunken
and frantic young kirig, the ancient and
noble Parmenio was flain, the chief of
the Dukes and Captains of the Mace-
donians ! Who knoweth not Cajeta and
the bending of the fhore there, a fairer
and pleafanter place there is not under
the cope of Heaven ; but it was in this
pleafant place alfo, the noble Cicero was
murdered, at the command of thedrunken
and cruel Anthony*

Perhaps this great man* whofe like is
moil fearce, meant to afliiage the grief

of

SHADY WALKS. I45

of his mind for the commonwealth, by
the delight of his eyes ; when he was
fallen upon by his cruel butchers. —
Thus it happeneth that delegable places
are moft apt for treafbn and deceit, as
men live there more carelefsly, and have
leaft view to danger, for wild beafts are
fooneft fnared in the thickeft woods,
and birds moft eafily limed in the green
twigs. I do take delight to be abroad
in my walks : — Not more delight thaa
the wild boars and the bears; which
proveth, that not where thou art, but
what thou doft is the great matter of
diftindtion between thee and brutes ! the
place fhall never make thee either noble
or happy; it is by employing thy mind
to fome wife ftudies, and thy ftudics to
fome valuable end, thou fhalt attain unto
both. — But I love not ftudy, I love reft
K of

I46 REST AND QUIETNESS.

r/- of mind and eafe. — Reft and quietnefs
are mine ! two moft acceptable commo-
dities of man's life, unlefs immoderate
ufe have made them into moft grievous
mifchiefs, as hath happened to many;
procuring plagufes to the body and dif-
eafes to the mind ; fwelling to the one,
*' f and ruft to the other. This quietnefs is
very pleafant to me. — * There are two
kinds of quietnefs, one is even in very
^ reft doing fomewhat, bufy about honeft
. affairs; and this is very fweet: the other
is flothful and idle, than which there is
nothing more laathfome: fluggifhnefs
is like to the grave. From the firft fpring
great works, profitable to the world, and
glorious to the writers; from the fe-
cond, dull and fleepy floth. — I enjoy my
wifhed reft.—- That reft which we muft
enjoy fhall never have an end; consi-
der

SLEEP. I47

der therefore in what reft thou doft take
delight ! — I fleep fweetly : thou art then
approaching a near kinfman, not in thy
love, for thou knoweft that fleep is the
image and brother of death. — In my fleep
I reft : Many that move do reft in mind,
and many that fit and lie are troubled ;
fleep itfelf, which is called the reft of all
living things, hath its own fecret troubles,
vifions,and fantafies ! My toils being paft,
I refrefh myfelf with pleafant fleep: toil
and labour are the bafe of virtue and glo-^
ry ! too much fleep is the fource of vice
and infamy, which driveth many headlong
and throweth them into perpetual fleep !
for it nourifheth luft, maketh heavy the
body, weakeneth the mind, dulleth the
wit, extinguifheth the memory, dimi-
nifheth knowledge, and breedeth ftu-
pidity; fo that it is not without caufe
It 2 that

I48 SLEEP.

that wakeful and induftrious perfons are
commended: fleep is called death, and
wakefulnefs life; take heed then of life
and death which thou doft choofe ! thofe
who wake early do live the longer. Au-
guftus Caefar, of all princes the great-
eft, ufed but fhort fleep, and that alfo
often interrupted. — I fleep profoundly —
So do gluttons , voluptuaries, wrathful
perfons, when their paflions have done
boiling over, and moft brute beafts ! —
I do enjoy my long fleep. — It is well
that the prince wake th, while the people
fleep, and that captains are diligent while
the army refteth; as fays Homer, upon
noble minds vigilant cares do depend:
they are fober, they are toilfome for
others; and not only kings and generals,
but philofophers, poets, and houfehold-
ers, do oft rife in the night: and ye

need

SLEEP. I49

need not be told that merchants and
mariners do watch whole nights abroad
in the open air, among furges and rocks,
more fierce than any enemy. Ariftotle
fayeth, rifing in the night, for a time,
is good for health; and not only do
thofe mentioned rife for fervice, good
hufbandry, and philofophy, but thieves
and pilferers alfo ; and which is more
marvellous, mad men and lovers, who
do in part belong to that clafs ; they ftir
themfelves in the night feafon, and
will not thou do that for the love and
ufe of virtue they do for the love of vice ?
and as Horace excellently faith, Seeing
thieves rife in the night to kill true men,
wilt not thou rife to preferve thyfelf ! —
I fleep all night, and no man troubleth
me.— Ariftotle attributed half a man's
Jife to fleep, half to waking ; I fuppofe
K 3 he

I50 SLEEP.

he meant not to fay it fhould be £o, but
that it was lb ; it were a ftrange fay-
ing otherwife for fo great a man, for the
wife know np thoughts are more fharp,
no cogitation more deep, than the night-
ly. God forbid that a well-inftrudted
mind fhould give half their time to fleep;
above all in youth, ages make a difference :
winter and fummer j yet as wintry nights
are long, in part of them it were expe-
dient to ftudy, to write, to read, and to
pray. — St. Jerome faith, rife once or
twice in the night, lie not on your pil-
low like buried carcafes, but by the
comely ftirring up of your bodies de-
clare that ye are alive ! When I wake from
my fweet fleep all things go with me as
I would wifh. — Thou fayft well, they
go all, for nothing ftandeth ftill; and
even thy hard head that feemeth to reft,

lieth

PERFECT DESIRE OP HEART- I51

Hcth between an iron pair of fheets !
and thou moveft on a pillow of thorns !
— My affairs go profperoufly, I ftand
fafe, and I have all my heart's defire. —
Diagoras Rhodius rejoiced like thee ; on
which Lacon faid to him, die now, Dia-
goras, for thou canft not climb into
heaven ! and it happened indeed fb to
Diagoras; for amidft the fhoutings of
the people, and the embracings of his
fons, his joy was too mighty for him,
and he gave up the ghoft. Many more
have perifhed through extreme joy than
forrow : thou mayeft not die on the fpot
with thy joyous cogitations, yet thy laft
day is at hand ; deceive not thyfelf with
dreams of perfect reft and quiet here :
the tomb will alone give it to thee ! —
thofe that would rife to the true haven
of everlafting reft muft not weigh them-
K 4 fclves

I52 EASE AND QUIET.

felves down to the earth with the bur-r
then of mortal things ! thou art like the
fowl that flieth between the line and the
fnare ; the fifli that playeth among the
hooks ; and the wild beafts leaping among
the toils !

I have toiled all my lifetime for to
enjoy this quiet, — Thou haft well pro-
vided then for the phyficians j they will
thank thee, and will fhortly come thick
about thy bed with much prattle and
little wifdom ! thou haft done well for
the lawyers, who will run to make thy
teftament with folemn fpeed: and ftill
better for thofe who are gaping for thy
money: they will try to diflemble their
fecret joy, by counterfeit tears, and curfe
thee within that thou ftayeft yet a little
fpace alive; yea, they will mark thy

crifis,

EASE AND WEALTH. I53

crifis, and catch at the figns and tokens
pfit with greedinefs; watch with in-
tenfe looks over thy golden carcafe; and
give inftant notice of thy laft breath ! —
Thus, truly, the trappings thou art about
to leave, fhall get thee merry company;
and thou (halt not wholly lofe thy la-
bour for joy, nor thy pinching cares for
wealth; it will furnifh the fuperfluous
pomp of thy burial, and then will thy
neft of hope be demolished quickly (if,
indeed, as with many, it perifh not be-
fore it be fledged) and thou fhalt find
that awful fentence verified 6n thee : —
Thou fool, this night will I take thy
foul from thee. Where, then, will the
goods be thou haft gathered together ?
think of this, break off fleep, and mo-
derate thy intemperate joy, — When I
am reftored by fleep, I delight in mufic,

in

154 DANCING.

in dancing, and in the fong. — By fing-
ing there is fome fweetnefs concerned,
which many times is profitable, and fome-
times is holy ; but dancing is a vain, a
voluptuous, and hurtful thing, I delight
to be at dancings ! The body covereth
and difcovereth the mind; the cafting
of the hands, the prancing of the feet,
the rolling of the eyes, declare that there
is fome like wanton folly in the mind, as
thefe do defcribe ; and therefore it be-
hoveth fuch as be lovers of true modefty
to take heed both of what they fpeak
and what they do; for the hidden things
of the heart are many times defcried by
fmall tokens; in moving, fitting, lying,
gefture, laughing, going, fpeech: all
thefe are the bewrayers of the mind. —
I do much defire to be at dancings : —
Foolifh defire ! do but imagine thyfelf

leading

DANCING. 155

leading forth a dance, or beholdeft others
dancing without hearing any inftrument,
and feeft foolifh women and effeminate
men turning and twifting about, jump-
ing backward and forward, and on all
fides, like perfons bereaved of wit; I
pray thee could any thing more abfurd be
witnefled ? but thou wilt fay, the found
of the inftrument covereth the unbecom-
ingnefs; that is to fay, one madnefs
hideth another : dancings are generally
performed in the night, and in hope, as
is well known, of leading filly women
about till they are won j under colour
of courtefy they are thus courted, clafp-
ed, and, not feldom, undone ; or if they
efcape thro' more chance than wifdom :
Are not fuch freedoms againft temperance
of mind, and the true and chafte mo-

defty

1 56 DANCING.

defty of that fex ? there the hands are
free, the eyes free, and the fpeech
free ! there the heat of motion overdoes
nature, prompts to evil deeds ! and
Jin dufl and noife deprives the virgin
of that fhamefacednefs that is her golden
fecurity ! — Well, I do love dancing ! —
I know thou doft ; yet fay, leaving the
above moft weighty arguments, which
thou canft not deny, is it not an exercife
abfurd in itfelf, and unnatural, becaufe
extreme ? Doth it not bring wearinefs
of the whole body, as well as giddinefs of
the head ; and are not furfeits and death
moft common effedts. Believe me, all ve-
hement motion, efpecially if accompanied
with noife, is hurtful, and beareth hard
upon the fprings of life ! know ye not
what was faid, and poflibly this was
meant; the wicked walk round about.

For

DANCING. 157

For to return to my great aim, the truth
cannot be denied, dancing hath been the
caufe of moft fhamefiil deeds, and be-
witched many to evil; who have not
partaken of it ; for not only the honeft
matron, and unfortunate virgin, have
loft their fame and innocence, but adtual
murder has enfued : wottefl thou of the
diih bore to Herod, no lefsthan the head
of the holy Baptift; oh horror! won by
a dance ! — Did not David dance ? — All
that good men do are not examples ; this
feems to have been a tranfport of reli-
, gion j I have faid before, all excefs is
wrong, and believe me no man will dance
before the Lord with king David ; left per-
adventure his wife laugh him to fcorn, as
we are told the wife of David did; which
feems to mark the abfurdity. I would
neither dance madly nor difhoneftly;

but

t$$ DANCING.

but I do think dancing a moft dele&abfe
thing ! and I am willing to exercife my-
felf in honeft dancing. — I had rather
thou wouldft choofe fome wholefomer,
and better excercife : but I perceive thy
meaning ; thou canft not bear to be re-
ftrained from any thing, however hurt-
ful : I grieve thou art fo minded ; but
would fain help thee to efchew mifchief.
If fuch be the manner and cuftom there-
fore, that dancing muft be allowed, let
it be a relaxation to thy wearied fpirits,
and a moderate exercife to thy body; but
in no way, nor by no means, a weakener
and corrupter of thy mind ! and let it be
feldom and moft modeftly ufed : there be
other recreations far more wholefbme
than this ; be circumfpeft in all ; what-
foever thou doeft, do it as though thy
enemy beheld thee ; it is better to live

the

DRINKING- 159

the wonder of thy enemies for thy ab-
ftemioufnefs, than the contempt of thy
friends for thy careleffnefs ! I would
gladly abftain from examples : imitation
of great men is not always fafe ; every
feathered fowl is not able to follow the
eagle ! The younger Cato when his
mind was overpreffed with cares of the
commonwealth, was wont to refrefh
himfelf with wine; the like did Solon,
among the -Greeks i tbey have many
imitators ; but that which they did for
a remedy of great labour, and for the
good of their country, thofe who do no
good to any, and much evil to them-
felves, abufe to drunkcnnefs. Scipio,
it is alfo faid, moved his triumphant and
martial body to the jfound of warlike in-
ftxuments, not mincing and prancing as
is now wantonly done, and to evil in-

l66 DRINKING.

tent ; but recognizing' thus as it werd
their famous deeds, f as in former times
men of renown were wont to do gravely
and ufefully, at plays and great feftivals ;
which fhould have honoured, if their
enemies had beheld them; yea, have
made them terrible in peace ! but I had
rather in the point of fobriety thou wert
like Caefar, who was a man his enemies
could not deny, of little wine ; and that
thou fhouldft not dance at all ; but if thou
wilt dance, and if thou wilt drink ; as I
well fuppofe, and give thy mind to what
I would not have thee,, let my w r ords
have fome efFedt ; drink wine fo as Cato
drank, and dance fo as Scipio danced. !

Thou muft allow mufic is fweet.
There have been fundry. opinions of
great wits about mufic and finging;

Atha-

music. 161

Athanafius for bad finging in churches ;
St. Ambrofe appointed that men fhould
ling: in old time who could not
fing or play on fqme inftrument, was
counted unlearned, which judgment
fell upon Themiftocles. Epaminon-
das is faid to have played excellent-
ly; and Socrates, grave as he was,
would learn to play; I will let others
pafs : there is fome delight of the ear
wherewith to be honeftly and foberly
entertained is a certain humanity; but
to fpend all the precious hours of life,
claimed for other ftudies, to be caught
by, and wedded to it, is vanity !— I take
pleafure in fongs and harmony : — Wild
beafts it is faid, and fowls may be de-
ceived by mufic, and fifties delighted !
thou knoweft the pretty fable of Orion
and the dolphin, it is chronicled as truth
L by

l6l MUSIC.

by Herodotus; fyrens are faid to deceive
by finging ; this is not believed ; but it
is true by (experience, for the voice is
the moil deceiving of all inftruments. —
I am charmed with mufic ! — The fpider
appinteth before he biteth ; and the phy-
fician before be ftriketh; the fowler
alfo, and a woman flattereth when they
mean to entice; a thief embraceth whom
be will kill ; and the polypus fifh huck-
leth whom he meaneth to drown : and
many evil-minded perfons are never more
to be feared than when they fhew them-
felves moft courteous and their voice is
moll foft : the emperor Dpmitian, knc\y
well to pra&ife this.-— I fing fweetly
myfelf ! — Thou knoweft not whether it
be tby laft fang; the fwan fingeth fweet-
ly before her death; and Statius fays,
^vhofc cuftom is the tender fouls with
. . .pipes

MUSIC. 163

pipes they bring to the grave ! but to
pais this. Some are moved by mufic to
mirth; fome to holy and devout joy;
fome to tears of the world ; and fome
to godly tears ; which variety of affec-
tions hath caufed fuch variety of opi-
nions in great wits. Alcibiades was, by
his uncle Pericles, fet to learn this art :
The love of mufic invades all minds,
but the idle more efpecially, and
thofe unaccuftomed to noble deeds,
and deep fludies. Caius the emperor
was much given to finging and dancing :
As to Nero, what regard he had to his
voice is incredible ; the fame night which
was the laft of his life, and the firft
therefore for the world to breathe; one
thing he moft miferably bewailed, that
not fo great a prince, but fo great a mu-
fician as he was, fhould perifh ! I am
L z de-

164 MUSIC,

detayned with the pleafure of fweet notes !
Oh that thou didfl hear the hymn of the
godly! Oh that thou couldft be pene-
trated \yith the groans of the wicked ! t
Oh that thou wouldft Men to the fighs
of the diftreft! but above all, oh that
thou couldft catch the rejoicing bf
blefled fouls, and the finging of angels,
who wkhout end do praife the firft and
eternal caufe! then wouldft thou truly
difcern which were the fweeter, which
the holier mufic; and fo difcern ing,
wouldft aflimilate thy humble tribute of
praife to the diviner notes and to the ce-
leftial harps of angels !

I do not give up wholly to thefe re-
creations, for I follow the king's bufi-
nefs. — It is painful for a man to follow
his own bufinefs ; what is it then to

follow

PRIME MINISTER. 165

follow another's, efpecklly thdfe who
are of weight. — I folicit the king's bu-»
finefs. — Take heed that whilft thy folU
citing be difficult, thy account be not
much harder; and fo inextricable, that it
entrain not thy patrimony, thy fame, and
thy life ; for thou muft needs difpleafe
many, and may difpleafe thy matter, or
which is moft dangerous, God, the maf-
ter of all ! for the great damages that
may enfue to- the people through theej
or if not this, aflure thyfelf fear, for-
i;ow, and biting cares, fhalf be thine !
now art thou not alive although thou* do
breathe quick ; for the life of fuch as are
in heavy care is a perpetual death ! — >
I have great power: And not a little
envy, and much peril.— 1 may do much
good — take heed that thou doft not ccm-
L 3 mit

166 fRiME minister;

mit much evil ; for ftrong are its incite-'
merits in power i in great things for-
tune bringeth force to the trial, but in
fmall things (he a£s mildly. — I am in
power and riches. — I will fuppofe thy
coffers full, thy meadows fruitful, thy
hall proudly furnifhed, thyfelf fumptu-
oufly arrayed! I will fuppofe thou haft
well married thy fon, and given thy
daughter a notable dower; and with all
this, that thou haft the favour of the
people and the ear of the prince : but
why doft thou fwell, whofe life as well
as power the flighteft fpring of nature
fnapt afunder ; the fmalleft bite of any
venomous animal, the fecret bafenefs of
a falfe friend, in a moment may bereave
thee off. Where then, I pray thee, is
thy power? on the fend within the wind J
or in fortune's wheel ? — But I pour forth

benefits

JUDGE. 167

Benefis upon many. — Then haft thou
the ingratitude of many to fear; fome
will forget, others will revile thee.—
They dare not, for I am a governor. ~
- Thou art the more likely to meet with
difgrace ; for. thou leadeft an unbridled
beaft that hath many heads with a fmaU
twine; and governeft alone a great
Ihip that is tofled with huge waves. — «
But I am alfo a judge ! — Judge fo, if
thou art, as though thou fhouldeft forth-
with be judged of another : there is one
judge of all men, and one incorrupt
judgment feat. What need thofe wha
think of this to have the judges fkia
nailed on the bench, to provoke them
to do juftice? Every judge fitteth in
that feat, where, if falfe judgment be
given, neither money, nor favour, nor
falfe witnefles, nor finifter engagements,
L 4 nor

l68 JUDGE.

nor vain threats, nor eloquent patrons,
fhall avail him ! the ftate of all public
officers of juftice is bitter and trouble-
fbme 5 their doors are fhut againft peace,
and open to contentions; they cannot
have time to attend the noble Dramas of
Efchylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, or
the cheerful focieties of friends ; and even
on holy days, their houfes are void of in-
nocent paftimes : — in the provinces,
are chidings and fpleen ; in the family,
buftle and vexation, and every thing out
of order ! all muft be handled, righted,
and amended ! But time and fpirits fail,
and how hard a matter it is to amend
many, appeareth in 'this; that very few
indeed do amend themfelves ; lay down,
therefore, my friend, thy confidence in
power, there is no power ftable; na
power but what is of power — And fo is
mine, for I ferve a good lord and king.

To

KING,. 169

To the power I meant, that Lord and King
is as much a fervant as thou art ; but I
will fuppofe thy earthly ruler good; and
a moft acceptable thing is a good de-
fender of the people's laws. Remem^
ber that prefence diminifheth fame,
and that one well faid, he hath lived
well, who hath lain well hid. My
Lord is good, I fear not his fight ; he.
is then moft pleafant in the eyes of God;
but if to fulfil covetoufnefs, and heap
kingdom on kingdom, a hunger which
no meat can fatisfy/ he can behold thou-
ftnds facrificed, and ten thoufands in
mifery ! although he be liberal and
affable to a few, he is only an execu-
tioner, not a King ! My Lord is mighty
good ! there is only one in Heaven who
of his own right is mighty, of his own
nature good. Auguftus Csefar, who wis

Lord

1J6 KING.

Lord of the earth, proclaimed, that none!
fhould call him Lord ; the true Lord is
God of Gods ! the Kings of earth, Em-
perors of men. Auguftus, in what he
Ordained, proclaimed the majefty of the
Heavenly King, and preferved his own
modefty ; and his fucceflbr, though in-
ferior to him, obferVed this moderation-
alfo : but the petty tyrants of after rimes
would all be called Lof ds ; yea, if they
had only a town or two in poffeffion : to
them it is a fhame to be reputed men,
find they take it as an injury to be fb
termed, as unfit are they to bear the
image of the Supreme Lord, whofe fer-
vice is more felicity than the brighteft
earthly diadem, as they are unlike him
in thofe attributes of juftice and mercy
which are the encirclements of his im-
mortal crown ! I am a great man with

my

general; Iff

my King— Art thou greater than Lyfima-
chus was with Alexander, or Sejanus
with Tiberius ? Their fall thou knoweft.
I have, with great pain and hazard, ob-
tained the favour of my King ! Oh ! how
much more fafely and eafily mighteft
thou have purchafed the favour of the
King of all Kings ? — I have been a faith-
ful foldier to my King; — thou haft theft
heard in thy ear ; learn to ftrike ; learn
to die ! to kill or be killed is the art of
war ; and therefore it behoveth thee in
all places, and at all times, to make thy-
felf ready : thy fword and thy fhield, thy
bows and thy arrows, and thy goldea
fpurs, is thy inheritance, and fhall be
that of thy >fon ; for it is moft com-
monly feen, that the fon of a foldier is a
foldier. — I am famous for my vi<5torie&
and my triumphs !— then thou haft be-
reaved

I72 GENERAL,

rcaved many of reft, and not a few of
life, who was their joy and their hope.
Many times evil is more known than
good* and a dark tempeft more fpoken
of than a fair fun-fhine day ; the grieved
will lament, the widow will weep for
her hufband and her fbn. Thus thou
wilt be talked of; it is well, if to de-
fend juft rights, thou becomeft thus
known, otherwife thou haft provided
difcourfe of bitternefs againft thee ; vain
titles for thy earthly tomb, and extinc-
tion at the feat of unbribed juftice, from
the manfions of the upright. Moft of
the people do love me. If the many are
evil, and the few good, the fimilitude
of friendfhip is againft thee ; the love of
evil men is purchafed by evil means. — I
do them right, and the people love me ;
a fair winter day, a hot fummer's air,

calm-

KING AND PRIME MINISTER. I7J

calmnefs of the fea, the moon's ftate,
and the love of the people ; if thefe were
compared for inconftancy, the laft would
bear the bell ; of which the Scipios, and
a thoufand among the great, too furely
proved. • I poffefs the chief place over
the citizens — thy houfe is then upon
fand, thy bed upon the briars, and thy
feat on a hollow, fhrinking away to give
thee a fall. Thy King, if good, is the
fervant of the public, thou the flave of
the multitude ; the firft day thy King
was made one, he began to die to
himfelf, and to live for all ; and which,
is the hardeft , cafe, for many unjuft
confiderers of his pains; but when
he is gone, they oft wifh him again.
A virtuous King is the felicity of a
tranfitory kingdom; but doubtful tra-
vel and heavy burthen oh him whom
he commiffions*: the King, and the

King's

I76 PRIME MINISTER.

and level hills to plains ; to add earth to
earth, by the violence of labour and the
death of men, for fome humour of the
brain. In all this did Caius confume
the treafuries of Tiberius, and then took
to rapine; witnefs his houfes of gold
which he alfo built; his mules fhod
with filver ; his golden nets with which
he fifhed ; his ropes and cords made of
purple filk ; the fifh pond that was be-
gun from the bridge. Mifenus, and that
was to reach to the lake Avernus, com-
pafl"ed and covered with wonderful gal-
• leries ; the ditch that dug through hills
was to have the fea brought into it for
the fpace of an hundred and threefcore
miles, on which he might fail, the breadth
being fuch, that two gallies might pafs
and not touch one another; which work,
if he had finifhed, he had beggared all

Italy,

PUBLIC EXPENCES. * ijj ■

Italy, and the whole commonwealth;
but death took him from fuch mifchiev-
ous works, and refcued the ftate from
ruin,

Thefe are not the employments of kings
and their counfellors; were they even pro-
fitable, neither fuch a fupper as Aurelius
Verrus gave, who had he made the like
dinner, muft have gone without here-
after, which thing the wife and modeft
Marcus Aurelius, his brother, did juftly
lament. This madnefs of fools is a pro-
per warning even to the wife, to refrain
from all excefs ; for in all cafes of emi-
nence, example will be followed to great
evil : the deep den of expences I have
traced to thee, feemeth to me like the
gaping gulph of Curtius, it cannot be
filled with riches : thy king indeed hath
M not

1J& DECEITS OF EMPIRE.

not wealth towaftc; it is the people's,
not his; for their good, not his folly or
thine. My king is famous for his
empire : if for his adtions well ; elfe fa-
mous names are obfeured by adtions like
thofe of Caius ; deceits of the world ;
credulity of men ; thefe are the hooks
whereby flexible minds are plucked hi-
ther and thither : the whole earth is but
a dot in the univerfe, and what are the
men on it ? kings and ploughmen, rich
men and beggars, all pafs as fmoke dri-
ven by a ftrong blaft ; and too late fhall
underftand that this world was but an
highway to pafs through, and no coun-
try to remain in : no afcent fixed and
certain j to the wheel and to the gallows,
as well as to the empire, men are {aid
to afcend ; but climbing as it hath been
(haine unto fome, and punishment to

many,

ft i v'fi n t ' 179

toany, fb is it painful to all, and thofe
{peak the truth who own it, however
hard of belief. But the great can be re-
venged while they do live of thofe wh6
hate them. The bounds of that little
power men have is one thing, and ho-
teefty another. Revenge k fweet : I mar-
vel any one can fay, revenge is fweet j
when anger is (6 bitter ; but if thou doft
feel any fweetnefs in it, it is furdy 4
favage fweetnefs, unmeet for a man and
proper to beafts, and that only the
fierceft t nothing lefs belongeth to a man
than cruelty and wildnefa ; nothing more
fitting than mercy and gentlenefs : but
I will tell thee how thoU mayft ufe re* \
Venge with glory) to fpare and be mer*
ciful ) no forgetfulnefc is honourable but
thai; of offences : a mofk excellent orator
a&ribed this to a moil excellent captain,
M a that

l8o REVENGE.

that he ufed to forget nothing but inju-
ries : take thou therefore upon thee this
moft noble revenge. — I. take pleafure in
revenge. — That pleafure, if it can be
one will be fhort; but the delight of
mercy will be everlafting ! of two de-
legable things, that is to be preferred
that continueth longeft; do thou that
this day whereof thou mayft receive per-
petual delight ! there is no joy fo great,
none fo allured, as that which fpringeth
from purenefs of confeience, and re-
membrance of things well done. — It is
honeft to revenge: But it is more ho-
neft to forgive : mercy hath commended
many, but revengement none ; nothing
among men fo neceffary as forgivennefs ;
for no man but offendeth, and no man
but hith need of mercy, which being de-
nied, who fhall take away faults heaped

on

R E V E N G E.--. l8l

on heap to the clouds ! Man fhall be

u

againft.man, and God againft all ! there
fhall 1 be* no end of contention and pu-
nifhment: horror fhall ftalk over the
earth, and * the lightenings of Heaven
fhall blazon her cruelties. Spare thou,;
therefore, that God may fpare thee!
Arrogant, indeed, is he, that afketh par-i
don of his Lord, and denieth forgive-*,
nefs to his fellow- fervant :/ nay, fo far
from revenging thyfelf On thy enemy,
thou muft pray that God may not re-
mejnber his fin to thee; and how canft
thou pray in fuch : a temper ? Will God
hear thee? Slake thy heat, bridle thy
pailion, or thou cahft not pray to be
heard ; I and waft thou to revenge, I pray
thee, what then? thou wilt revenge on
thyfelf.* » r The body or the riches of an-
other thou mayft; indeed, deftroy ; but
M 3 in

iBl DUELLING,

in doing it, thou (bait utterly cafl away
thy own foul ! But my enemy will never
leave to injure-^the fitteft inftnjment to
take away an enemy's hardnefs is lenity r
many examples thou mayft read of;
ffa>ve all remember the laid things.
The man fhall die who hath hurt thee f
or thou mayft die before him; moderate
thyfelf: that (hall come to pafs which
of him in thy paffion thou thirfteth for,
his death! Why embrue thy hands,
which fhall fhortly fail thee, with the
blood of him that ihall fail alfo ! it is as
fleedlefs as wicked : let him die whole
and found, that thou thyfelf mayft die
pure, and reflect on thofe who have not
only forgiven, but fcrved thofe who have
injured them on one fide, and thofe who
have hewed them down on the other,
pay, have wreaked their cruelty on their

fenfe-

DUELLING. 183

fenfelefs cat-cafes; and then confider
which of thefe thou wouldft be like, and
confer, not only their deeds, but alfo
their words ; for there refteth no fmall
part of cruelty in the words. Cruel is
the foot, more cruel the hand; but
above all, moft cruel is the tongue!
Many times that cruelty of the mind
which the hand could not match, the
tongue hath furpafled ; as of cruelty £0
of mercifulnefs, the tongue is the beft
witnefe.

Tiberius, hearing that one he had
condemned Had prevented his revenge,
by flaying himfelf, cried out in a rage,
Cornelius hath efcaped my hands !"
-Hadrian faid to his enemy prefent,
Thou haft efcaped my hands, I for-
give thee!"— *The one envied and
M 4 grieved

€€

t*

184 DUELLING.

grieved at his enemy's death, the other
pardoned and prolonged his enemy's
life. Choofe which of thefe twaine fhall
be reported of thee ; the merciful faying
of the good prince, or the bloody voice
pf the cruel butcher! I am not igno-
rant it is eafier to advife good things than
to do them, and to be mild for another
than for one's felf. Hard it is, I con-
fefs, but good ; and thou canft not deny
but that every virtue cenfifteth in that
which is good ; that it is difficult to the
ft ranger to virtue to pratSife goodnefs ;
but to them that love her, all things be-
come eafy. Raife thyfelf, therefore, to
her by the gentlenefs thou haft ' before
trodden under foot, and fhe will reach
out her hand and fave thee from wrath,
that cruel, that devouring monfter ! To
rejoice in a man's death may be per-
mitted

REVENGE. 185

mitted to. -in immortal perhaps, with
their 1 wide, knowledge of caufes and
events ; but for a man dying himfelf, to
wifli his fellow's death is aftonifhing L
When two go to execution, does one of
them rejoice that his fellow is going to
the fame port. Czefar bewailed Pompey
in. death, .though, he vexed him in
life ; Alexander lamenteft Darius $ and
couldfc thou then rejoice ixu thy neigh-:
hour's death, whom thou art command^
ed to lpye, as wrought by the great Ar-
tificer in the fame .mould. So many are
the natural and accidental iflues out of
life, that Revenge may very well be
fpared her tremenduous point. The
earth finkcth and openeth, and the burn-
ing air oft exhaleth the vapours of pef-.
tilential difeafes. At this time the air is
clear and pure ; dp thou then take pat-r

tern

1 86 CLEAR AIR.

tern from its mildnefs. This bright
clear air is delightful ! To take delight
in the creation of God is juft, if thy
mind is in a ftate to do it honourably,
and to center the praife in God himfelf,
the fountain of all mercy, which thou
canft not do without mercy to them that
bear his image, whatever be their offence.
Charming is this air of Heaven, I would
it might always continue fo ! Then wouldft
thou die. The alteration of feafons,
fays Cicero, is fpecially ufeful to man,
I feel well in this air — there is nothing
£o plcafant; which, being continued,
becometh not hurtful and wearifome.
There is no medicine more effe&ual
againft all tedioufnefs in life, than va-
riety of places and feafons ; Wi*h this
man's life is nourished and fed ; and, as
Bt f Auguftine feith, he that cannot be

filled

CLEAR AIR. 187

filled with the quality of things, at lead -
may be fatisfied with their variety. How
pleafent is this clear air to fail in, how
jfweet the fea in fuch air ! It is 3 fuf-
picious fweetnefs, like to the flattering
of thieyes threatenings ; foon will it
appear fo altered that thou wilt
fay,- from whence come thefe horrible
piountains of water that rife to the
clouds ! from whence this flooring of tha
huge waves ! None know but tbofe who
have proved it, what the fea is ; which
moved the poet to call it an unruly mon-
ger. Nothing fo often and fo danger-
oufly transformed j noticing more ibft
#nd enchanting, while it refteth ; no-
thing more fierce or unmerciful, when
troubled ,

The

The fea is now quiet and fit to fail upon :
Upon fuch an element canft thou hope
for firmnefs ? — Surely now I may fail
happily. — Perhaps a little fpace thy fails
may wanton in wild and refrefbing
breezes ; but knowefl: thou what whirl-
pools may ftart up beneath, or what
ftorms may crufh thy veflfel from above,
which yet may, not be able to reach
the fhore to fave thee! I am firm at
land at leaft, for I fit fafe on the fhore :
more men inhabit the land than the fea;
and many are the dangers alfo there;
the ppor fearcher under, waters, on
the fands in Statius when he died,
commended the wintry and fouth winds,
and the danger of the fea, as lefs. painful
than his flavery, I am firm on land at
leaft that v/ill ftand fteady under foot. —
But many times it liath not fo flood ;

CITIES DESTROYED. 189

whole cities have been fwallowed up
at once; to omit your own hills jiEtna
and Vefuvius always fhaking over your
heads with fiery portents ! Rome itfelf
tottered, the Alps trembled marvel-
oufly ; the high rocks being torn away,
gave licence to the fun-beams to view
fuch places' as were never before difcover-
ed. Towns and ftrong caftles in Ger-
many and Spain, have been laid flat on
the earth ; yea, the river Rhine itfelf ran
forth from his channel as if weeping for
the ruins wherewith on each fide his
banks were fo miferably and fearfully
defaced ; efpecially that fide which was
fometime moft beautified with buildings,
whofe rubbifh he wafheth now with his
rattling whirlpools : ceafe thou therefore
to be carelefs where there is no fecu-
curity; the earth on which thou treadefl

is

igO WAR AND PEACE*

is not Co certain a place of dwelling, at
of burial i thou art now fafe on the earth,
but under it (halt tbou very fliortly rc-
pofe. — I hope for reft and peace in this
world — An excellent good thing, if it
were fincere or could be perpetual^ but
fhutability hangs over the awnings of
peace wherewith ye fhelter yoorielres :
in moft refpe&s peace, public and pri-
vate, is better than war and contentions,
but the latter bringing experience, oft
produceth warinefs and firmer peace by
being redoubted: the Roman prowefs
had never decayed, if the Carthaginian
war had continued ; that peace was the
deftrudtion of Rome, and a document
to all other cities, that peace is not al-
ways beft for nations and empires. Wer6
men good and reafonable, peace. might
be maintained without war; but covet-

oufnefs,

WAR AND PEACE. I9I

oufnefs, envy, anger, and pride, lift up
the banners of war both in cities and in
families j and ye, like wilful and ftub-
born children mifft be whipped into
wifdom : as &ith the apollle, whence
cometh wars an fighting amongft you ?
when ye enjoy all things ye value?
Nothing; and idlenefs, and lufl produce
fecret hatred, and open tyranny ! What
availeth, faid one, to pray to the gods,
either for public or private peace, when
the owners of the veflels are freighted
for war! peace muft be ufed ipodeftlyj
proud and negligent manners offend her
gentle nature ; fhe wings her flight, and
will not ftay to behold the overthrow
of humanity. Sylla in war was like Sci-
pio ; but in peace a very Hannibal : -~
Marius, fo valiant in war, was fo pefti-
lent in peace, that what he had preferr-
ed

I92 WAR AND PEACE,

ed in the firft he overthrew by all kind
cf treachery in the latter: if good man-
ners are exiled, pleasures bear rule;
Virtues are trodden down, and minds at
rage within : farewel that peace which
is an heavenly gift ! fhe will not dwell
in a fomented foul: Let fuch put on the
breaft plate rather than the white robe !
let them march into the field, for
they cannot reft in the chamber! let
them blow the trumpet of difcord, not
found the pipe of harmony ! let them
difplay their glittering fpears and polifh-
ed helmets in the fun's fcorching beams,
not feek the fweet retreat of domef-
tic fhade ! let them rejoice in the death
of others, and forfake their own life !
but let them take heed of the time ap-
proaching, and the everlafting reft into
*W»ch the 'turbulent atad evil friay not

abide,

TROUBLES OF KIN&S, 193

abide, or even be allowed to enter ; yet
cannot they efcape either by fword or
War, from the retribution of that great
day !

Who then are the happy on earth, if
not kings and heroes ? they are ftiled
great and happy on earth at leaft ? —
Things which are full of cares and dan-
gers muft be the root of miferies, not
happinefs. — - Sylla was called happy I
grant, but with fo heinous a life and
death how could he be proved fo ? — <
Alexander and Julius Caefar were faid to
have moft profperous fortune $ yet their
lives were ever unquiet and troublefome,
and their deaths violent and dreadful!—
nay, even the martial felicity of the
Scipios in th§ one, by his unworthy
exUe in the other, by his fhameful
N and

ig4 TROUBLES OF CESAR.

and unrevenged death, were furely di-
minifhed. Auguftus Caefar feemed to
be happy, for the excellency of his go-
vernment, the continuance of peace,
the length of years, and the tranquillity
of his manners ; but indeed he was far
otherwife, for the inward ftate of his do-
meftic life hindered the enjoyment of his
outward glory: the untimely death of
his adopted children and nephews, and
the untowardnefs of fome of them worfe
than death : — Moreover, the treafon and
fecret practices of many moft vile per-
ions ; the confpiracies of his kinsfolks,
the dreadful lufts of his moft dearly be-
loved and only daughter, and of his niece;
finally, an heir that was none of his own,
and a fucceflbr that he liked not ; and
whom he chofe rather out of neceffity
than of judgment, far unworthy of fuch

an

TROUBLES OF MEM. \g$

an emperor and of fuch an empire. *—
If then none of thefe were happy, fhew
me the hero that is fo, or any man, till
death do prove his lot ? Be not blind any
longer ; the trade of honour is the laft,
inftead of the firfl;, for happinefs; and
how many things are wanting to every
man, every man can alone judge within
himfelf, knowing the things that he
hath, which another knoweth not of:
happinefs may be accomplifhed by vir-
tue ; but in error it muft fail ; and there-
fore moft men muft go without it ; for
it never happened to any to rejoice long
in error : truth alone is found and fub-
ftantial! a time fhall come that will
drive away ftiadows, uncover and dis-
cover falfe joys, bring them to that light
from whofe rays they muft fhrink, and
which will diflipate them as the fun
N 2 beams

I96 HOPE. *

beams diffipate the vapours of the mom-*
ing ! let thofe men be witneffes of this
truth whom you placed iir joy, where
arc they now ? in what ftate do they re-
main j what do they now think of their
ihort glory and moil interrupted felicity ?

Howfoever the world goeth, no man
(hall take hope from me. — Indeed no
man is able to take it from thee: but
fhe will take herfelf away by little and
little, and wafteth away with many un-
forefeen events. It is a fweet thing to
hope. — Truly I hear many fay £0 $ but
I cannot perceive the fweetneft $ for if
' it be fweet to hope, it is alfo fweet to
lack that which a man would have,
which whofoever will affirm, he muft
want feeling, to live in doubt, to ber
affe&cd, is hope$ nay, to fear, for thofe

who

hope. tgy

who hope muft fear ; they go together :
nothing fo much wearieth the mind,
nothing fo much hafteneth old age :— *
Let fortune look to the event. — I rejoice
in hope t-r-Take heed of thy hope, what
it is; if evil or impoffible thou wilt repent
thee: many have been overthrown, many
perifhed, by their hope, when effected.
None fhall take hope from me. — None
(hall take from thee wearifbmenefs in
hoping ; the deceit, the doubt, the tirou*
ble, the readinefs to give credit to all you
wifli ; the lightnefs and folly of embracing
every argument : yea,, when it ha6 for-
iaken you, ye forget how ye have been
deceived, and again go forth to embrace
it !*— I will not forfake my hope unto the
iaft. *-*> What if it forfake thee, canft
thou call it back, or follow it, or ftay
for its return ? but go to ; hope in God's
N 3 name,

I98 HOPE.

name, fince it is fo pleafant to thee to
be deceived ; I would not pluck good
purpofes from thee if thou defiredft
them : to purpofe well* and to hope for
what thou doft call good things, are
widely oppofite : the moft wicked hope
for good, while they know not what
good is, for they hope not for that
which is good: this is the only honeft
hope ! he that hath this hope, let him
hold her faft, and not let her depart;
but gain her other fifters alfo, Faith and
Charity: thefe are the precious guefts of
human life, they never fail, never con*
found ! they will chear the foul, fmooth
the pillow, break the yoke of that in-
conftant and unmild lady Fortune, who
beareth rule in the breaft given to falfc
hope. Mine underftanding is human
gnd I hope for things humanely called

good*

HOPE OF MANY THINGS. I99

good : Heretofore it hath been, and to
the world's end, there will be contention
about what is good- I have caft the
anchor of good hope, and I will not re-
move. Sailors ufe mzr\y times, when a
tempeft rifeth, to cut their cable and
loofe their anchor if they cannot weigh
him up and depart without him| for
in great troubles and ragings of the fea,
the anchor doth not hold faft without
endangering the veffel ; and fo in
worldly affairs, . fettled and tough hope
hath deftroyed, which if cut off had pre-
ferred, in well hoping and ill, having
life pafleth : but I will be honeft and tell
thee, the feveral fubje&s of thy hope :
Thou hopeft for an inheritance, x and
gladly thinkeft on another's death. How
knoweft thou whether thy little may not
fall to him whofe wealth thou grudgeth
N 4 and

20O HOPE OF INHERITANCE.

and coveteth : if made the heir, hath thy
patron engraved his donation on tables of
diamond ? At the end of life much is
blotted out, marked firmly in life ; the
laws therefore call the wills of teftators
walking wills : doft thou forget to whom
it happened, they were not only promif-
ed inheritance but alfo received kiffes,
rings, and the laft embracing of the
party which lay a dying, when there
Were other heirs appointed, and no men*
tion made of them in the will. Bafe
conduft, grievous cenfure on the honefty.
of the mind ! if not diftraught or abuf-
ed by deceit. That moft honourable
gentleman, Lucius Lucullus, fuffered
fbme time this kind of mock reproach ;
and alfo the great Auguftus himfelf, an
horrible and- moft ftrange delight in de-»
chiving, which will not fbrfake wretched

fouls

HOPE OF WINNING AT GAMES. 20|

fouls at the point of death! this hope
refteth on a carcafe, and the burial $ and
doth refemble the hunger of a wolf.
Thou fay, thou haft this thy hope: thy
fuccefTor, for whom thou haft been care-;
ful, may be negligent in love i and as
thou haft hoped of another, fa will he
hope of thee : but to wave this difmal
ftate of mind; to which thou obje&eft
not. Thou hopeft for fuccefs alfo at
iMttiy and various games j at tennis, ye
weary your bodies, and no way exercife
your minds $ when walking, according
to'ftrehgth, anfwerfc to the health of
both, and ii the inoft falutary exercife in
human life : from the honeft ftirring up
of the mind by walking, the moft fa-
mous fed: t<tok its name. Though!
will not deny but modeft and good
minds have delighted in the rough fex-

ercife

202 TENNIS, DICE, &C.

crcife of the ball ; among whom was
Auguftus, and Marcus Aurelius, who
played well at tennis ; yet do I not there-
fore like the better this hafty and cla-
morous game; on this ground; that all
vehement motion, efpecially if joined
/with noife and the outcry of clamour, is
hurtful to the body, and unfavourable to
the dignity of the mind ; befides, ex-
cefles which from drought and heat are
occafioned. If I play at dice and drafts
I fhall fit quiet; I doubt it much : Au-
guftus here too refrefhed himfelf, but his
great cares not thine required fuch relax-
ation. I take more pleafure in playing
at dice and tables : I was going to tell
thee of this hope of gain by the fine de-
light of throwing a couple or more of
fquared bones, with certain numbers
marked on every fide* and look eagerly

which

GAME OF LOTTS. 203

which way they run, fo to place the
round tablemen in order. I delight more-
over to play at lotts : fine delight ! to
ftand gaping over a pair of tables, and afew
rowling peices of wood by ftealth felling
in ; whereat there was an ape that play-
ed, as Pliny writeth ; away go the hands,
and ftreight are plucked back ; the teeth
grin; the fpirits chafe; the head is
fcratched; the nails are gnawed; and
all is done like an ape : indeed it is the
very play for fuch an animal ! If a man
was as deligent in fettling his mind as
in placing his boxen or ivory tablemen,
what would he not attain to ? but men
are bent on nothing more than gaming*
This, is a rule proved in the kingdom of
folly ; I do delight in thefe games ! —
Thou doft delight in a gaping whirls
pool ; in the flitting of thy patrimony,

in

204 INHUMANITY OF GAMING.

in the clouding of thy feme ; in a pro-
vocation to wicked paffions of the mind,
and in the way to defperation ! But I
may be a winner, and then I fhall have
j good : There is no good in play, all is
I evil and miferable. , The lofer is grieved
by the, and the winner lofes his humani-
ty ! If all that play fhould lofe, no man
would play at all. If there were any
jufHce, that which thou winneft is not
thine j and that which thou lofeft ceafeth
to be fo. All money won by play run-
neth fafter than other : it is feen never
to ftay in the hands of the impious
banker ; and no lofs is more greivous
than that which hath had the tafte of
the fweetnefs of gain. To rejoice in
winning is to rejoice in poifon ; it will
break out at the veins anon. There be
fome fins that are forrowed for, fome

repented

WRETCHEDNESS OF GAMING. 20$

repented of $ but the fin of gaming ot
loving play, is a deteftable hardnefs that
cafes the foul in iron to eternity ! Think
not I fpeak too bitter ; can it be other-
wife where there is no comelinefs of be-
haviour, no modefty in words, no love
towards man, no reverence towards God!
but chiding, railing, deceit, perjury, re-
venge, and oft bloodshed and murder:
as to, the blafpheming of God's moft
holy name, thou knoweft that games
abound with this fhameful, this cruel
pradife : ~ for is not fuch an injury to the
King of kings the higheft cruelty ? haft
thou not feen fome fet down to play who
have trembled while thy have called on
God in this furious manner ! Others,-
not fo bad, yet have looked what they
did not fpeak. What things have been
done for a fmall fum in thefe places*

which

204 WRETCHEDNESS OF GAMING,

which in others would not have been
attempted for the greateft treafure of the
earth ! Gaming in every degree, where
money is the objedt, is the kingdom of
all vices ; but efpecially of the two moft
dreadful ones, wrath and covetoufnefs :
and the Proverb truly fays, All the great
players and matters of games become
naked, bare, and poor in the end. God
that loveth good minds, and courteous
manners, well look on thee with an an-
gry eye ; dread his power, who has de-
clared the covetous and the man that
loveth not his brother fhall not enter his
holy kingdom ! If thou wilt play for
recreation, do as the worthy and learned
men in Athens did ; when a company of
friends met together, every man fhould
alledge fomething appertaining to vir-
tue and hone ft living; and when they

had

SATURNALIA OF THE GREEKS. tOJ

had conferred on thefe matters without
envy, and with much love, a fmall piece
of money was given to the beft pro-
pounded of wifdom, and this money
converter to phUofophical fuppers : fo
that it miniftered provifion for the body,
a fpur to the wit, and exercife to the
mind. With this kind of play where-
with our forefathers furnifhed their Sa-
turnalia, furnifli ye your godly holidays,
and wherewith they were wont to pafs
their Athemen nights, pafs ye your Ro-
men nights : for at this game thou fhalt
gain great intereft, and it fhall never
bring thee to fhame !

May I not take delight in the game
of wreftfing ? If thou canft delight in
the heat of chariots, the noife of horfes,
the fmoaking of the fcorching wheels

through

208 WRESTLING*

through narrow ftreets, at the peril of
life ; the fweating throng, the running
down of the oil, and the blinding clouds
of duft, thy fenfes muft be dull: and
how thy eyes, n<?fe, and ea*s, can then
be pleafed, I know not. I have told
thee that Diagorus Rhodius, who was
himfelf a famous wreftler, when he faw
two of his fons rewarded in one day at
this game; as though nothing noble
. was to be found but thefe turmoils of
the body, died for joy on the ipot !
Plato when young, but only when
young, was alfo a famous wreftler ; af-
terward hq betook himfelf to that which
was better ; and chofe rather to be like
Socrates than Milo : in this game the
vileft perfons not the wifeft have oft the
afcendant, and virtue of mind is van-
quifhed by hugenefs of body. What

Duke

WRESTirNG. 209

Duke or Nobleman canft thou name
which Milo could not overcome ? Who
would run a furlong with a live bull on
his flioulders, and killing him with a
ftroke of his bare fift, would eat him up
in one day. Who fhall meet with the
fellow to match him, in the kingdom of
chivalry ? The confiidl of the mind
is a worthy conflict, not the conflict of
the body. Strive not for ftrength, ftrive
not for riches, ftrive not for power !
ftrive for nothing whereby thou mayft
detradt from another, to gain thyfelf.
Where envy accompanys, the vi&ory is
degraded ; but if thou ftrive with the
good for virtue, with the juft for honef-
ty, and with the innocent for temper-
ance, thou fhalt reach the goal of life.
In this game thou need not endure the
burning rays of the fun, nor the choak-
O ing

210 SHEWS OF THE GLADIATORS

ing duft, nor the hue and cry of the
mob ; nor the grudging of thy compe-
titor ; in thy clofet, and in the court ;
in leifure, and in bufinefs ; with thofe
that are prefent, and when, they are de-
parted from thee ; with all worthy
minds of all ages, and of all countries,
mayft thou run this noble race to allured
vidtory, and the immaculate crown that
, fhall never defcend from thy head to any
heir $ or wither on thy immortal brow !
this is my counfel, this the exercife I
would have thee to purfue ! I am glad
thou haft not exprefled a defire for the
fhews of the gladiators ; in that I give
thee credit, thou couldfl: not furely bear
to fee a man flain with a weapon, or torn
to pieces by the teeth and nails of wild
. beafts : fuch lights terrify thofe awake,
and difmay again in the vifions of fleep !

Nor

JESTERS. 211

Nor haft thou exprefied delight in the
paftime of jefters : thou knoweft they
are flyes, which when thou art dry, fore-
fake thee ; who talk of other folks either
falfely praifing, or bitterly defaming
them ; to whofe tongues reft and quietnefs
is a punifhment j who love points, and
phrafes, and little wit : and it is very cer-
tainly proved, all who follow jcfting and
fneering, are mean fpirits, of a corrupt,
of a falfe judgment, and little argument
therefore is needful againft fuch. Thou
knoweft all thefe things are vain; but
thy hopes are indulged ftill, for fweet but
deceivable things ! Thou trufteth in
the return of a dear friend, and addeft
not the cafualties that may prevent or
retard his coming : how many may we
think there were in Rome, who with
defirous minds, expe&ed the return of
O 2 Marcus

212 DANGERS.

Marcus Marcellus ! while his moft cruel
foe arretted him in the midway; and
when Casfar, at the requeft of the Se-
nate, pardoned Marcellus ; his enemy's
cruelty prevented the mercy of Casfar.
I hope to fee my friend; and I expert
him fafe, having no enemy to hinder his
coming. What man is he that hath not
an enemy? or liveth not among thofe
who hold open war with peace and vir-
tue, and hate nothing more bitterly than
to behold others happy ! The theives
and murderers of domeftic peace, and of
facred friendship, ftand ever clofe to
the happy, watching every moment to
purloin their peace. Wherever thy
friend pafleth, thefe will fecretly follow
him. Befides other manifeft dangers of
waggons and horfes over-throwing him,
rivers and ftreams whofe depth he

weighs

DRUSUS AND QERMANICUS. 213

weighs not, weak bridges and damp
houfes, wild beafts and venemous vermin ;
thefe walk along in the train of death
who brings up the rear. Drufus Nero,
fpn-in-law to Auguftus, poflefled fuch
wonderful affedtion even from his enemies
that he was almoft adored : how thinkeft
thou did Auguftus, lord of all the world,
expedt the return of fo noble a young
gentleman, whom in love he had made
his fon ; and Rome itfelf, who depend-
ed on him, with the royal houfe to
whom he was fo dear ! but look fudden
death, as fome authors fay, by the break-
ing of his thigh, brought him back
dead ; whom they fought to gaze on as
a conqueror ! Shall I fpeak of Germa-
nicus ? I think there was never greater
expedtation of any* man : it was not his
father nor yet Auguftus that expected
O 3 him,

214 GERMANIC VS.

him, but the whole city of Rome; and
that with fuch defire as a widow and a
mother that had but one child ! and
therefore on report of his ficknefs, all
countenances and apparel were changed,
and forrowful filence pofleffed every
heart ! on a glimpfe of hi£ recovery, the
people ran to the capitol, loud noifes of
joy burft forth; and the doors of the
temple were almoft born away by the
throng to give thanks to the Gods ! the
darknefs of the night was overcome by
the blazing torches ; and they fung for
joy, Rome is in fafety ! our country is in
iafety ! Germanicus is in fafety ! But
what was the end ; even that moft com-
mon in hufrian affairs, Germanicus was
dead ! he returned not : but he was
tranflated where the envy that poifoned
him could not reach. Our whole life

is

ALL TIMES GOOD, 21$

is a life of expectation ; to perceive it,
fo to feek a better is our only juft aim.
We live in happier times than thou haft
reported of. -Tknes of themfelves are
of a * like goodnefs : — the creator of
times is always good ; it is men that
fail. Times pafs away and return no
more : virtue, induftry, and good arts
pafs alfo, but they do not perifh though
they pafs ; for good deeds well done are
immortal ; the manners of every age
hath been complained of, and every age
hath caufe to complain; but a mind
made joyful by goodnefs will always find
fburces of felicity.

Thou doft alfo hope for glory by

building! — « — This glory is won out

of lime and fand, timber and ftone !

this glory is made by men's hands, and

O 4 there-

2l6 DESTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS.

therefore muft fail in itfelf, or by length
of time, for time hath very long and
ftrong hands that no works can with-
ftand ; if thou doubteft, behold antiqui-
ty and believe : the proud tower of
Ilium in Troy; the walls of Babylon
and of Carthage, are now the dens of
ferpents ! and the habitations for wild
beads : and even to fpeak of later times,
Nero's golden houfe, Diocletian's warm
fountains, and Severus's wells ; the mar-
ket place of Auguftus, the houfe of
Mars the revenger, and of thundering
Jupiter : in the Capitol, the Temple of
Apollo, the theatre of Marcellus, and
innumerable works befides thefe: feek
in books and thou (halt find their names,
but feek all Rome over and thou fhalt
find nothing at all of them, or a few
remnants only. Had Auguftus left no-
thing

GLORY BY BUILDINGS. 2.1J

thing behind him but buildings, his
glory had long fince fallen to the ground*
The temples of the Gods which he pre-
pared fell down on thofe that did build
them; others have trembled and fhook;
and one only ftandeth as if it could bear
its own burthen ; which is the temple
of Pantheon, made by Agrippa. I feek
for glory by building. — Seek it where
it is, thou (halt never find a thing where
it is not. — J (hall leave behind me build-
ings which will gain glory among pofte-
rity! — Auguftus boafted that the city he
found of brick he left of marble, where-
unto this glory came we have feen:
thefe followed him and will thee to the
earth from whence they came. — I have
built houfes whereby I hope for
praife. — Perhaps they will praife thee
that next dwell in them; or it may be

they

they may find many faults thou didfV
confider as beauties, for man's tafte dif-
fereth; at all events the generations
after fhall know no more of thee than of
Pagans. — If I gain not fame by -my
buildings after death, I fhall for my re-
nown. — This is true of fome ; Seneca
prophefied that he fhould be beloved of
posterity for his writings: Statius alfo
prepared this path for fame ; and likewife
the poet Ovid; but commoner wits
may hope, and fail of that hoped for. —
If I be famous while alive, why fhould
I not be famous after death ? — The caufe
is manifeft — a certain affability, fweet
and pleafant fpeech, a winning counte-
nance and friendly look, gentle greeting,
benefits beftowed on neighbours, de-
fending of clients, * hofpitality toward
ftrkngers, courtefy toward companions ;

FAME. 219

thefe do purchafe fame to the living,
but fo foon as they are dead, or at moft
as long only as thofe who know them
remain, a fhort period I their proud
fame ends!

It is the courfe of nature that fame can » 1
alone be durable from holinefs ; and works
that fhall defcend from one generation
to another as eminent writings ! As to
praters, gowned gentlemen that walk in'
their filks, glitter in their jewels, and'
are pointed at by the people ! all their
bravery and pomp, their ihew of know-
ledge, and their thundering fpeeches,
laft only with their lungs ; and hard as
it may feem, vanifh into thin fmoke:— •
for ambition or lucre are no witnefles of
true praife. — I think I fhall have fame
after my death/— Fame never profited

220 HOPE OF MANY THINGS.

the dead, but hath often hurt the liv-
ing : what procured the deftrudtion
of Cicero and Demofthenes, Socrates
and alfo Zeno : foul and haggard envy
of their fame and gaping covetouf-
nefs ! — What brought the chofen men
of the great (hip Argos to Colchis;
but the fame of that king's riches; for
what elfe was fignified by the Golden
Fleece but the riches feized by thefe
theives deftitute of true riches and who
were clad with fleeces not their own ! To
be true with thee, tny hopes have no
end ! health which is defirable but brings
with it forgetfulnefs of mortality! long
life, wherein thou (halt fee much, and
fuffer much againft thy liking ; outlive
thofe dear to thee, and perhaps thyfelf !
beauty of the .body of which I have
Warned thee the danger ; power to of-
fend,

HOPE OF MANY THINGS. 221

fend, and long repentance in offending,
great riches and fearful briars ! continual
care if it be obtained by merchandife,
and terror at every wind * great dignity
and hated pride ! honour of the court,
of pleas with duft and clamour ; wedr
lock and children, with contentions and
cares! Wit and learning, a hammer for
thy head to break fleepj commendation
at thy burial, a nightingale's fong, to a
deaf ear ; a name among pofterity $ a
teftimony from unknown" aiid unvalued
perfons! an heir for thy eftate ! a friend
to thy patrimony, and an argument to
thy felf thou art going and flialt not re-
turn ! thefe are thy hopes collected into
a fum, I would quietnefs of mind and
content were among them ; for this thou
mayeft give unto thyfelf. — • I hope alfo

for

222 PEACE OP MINfi.

for quietnefs of mind. — Lay down theft
thy other weapons which do fight againft
this peace ; the covetous and ambitious
paffions of thy mind, and thou fhalt
have it, — I hope I may attain quiet-
nefs. — I marvel from whence ye have
this defire of hoping always ; and if ye
do obtain ought ye hope for, ye are. not
a jot the more quiet; again ye caft forth
your hope to another thing, and from
thence to another; fo that to-day is
always loft in to-morrow ; and thus
men wax old in hoping for that they
might have found and enjoyed in them-
felves : in comparifon of which human
affairs are fhadows, and they feed on
wind who purfue them as realities,
dream away their fhort lives and with
thefe falfe hopes go forth to everlafting

labour. —

HOPE OF EVERLASTING LIFE* 223

labour. I hope, indeed ! and that hope
muft be real, though all others were
falfe. — I hope for life everlafting !
Moft affuredly excellent, beautiful holy,
. is this hope ! if not blind and headlong,
for there be fome men who are always
doing evil, and yet hoping for good, than
which nothing can be more fooliih — •
fuch the confanguinity and linking of
virtues, that thofe who have hope, muft
alfo have faith and charity ; if one of
thefe be wanting, thy hope is a rafli.
prefumption. I hope humbly for. ever-
lafting life ! Earthly lords do love to be
hoped of; but by whom ? truly, by
thefe of whom they know themfelves to
be beloved; or who having been rebel-
lious, have intreated their mercy by re-
pentance. The heavenly Lord doth alfo
exped this conduit, and that things are

done

224 PATIENCE IN DISTRESS.

done well: Amend thy temporal life,
for that alone leadeth to the Eternal.
— Firft, thou muft hope for mercy,
and afterwards for life \ — and mo-
deftly muft thou hope for both ; hap-
py, happy man ! — if this, thy hope,
fail not, and it furely will not fail : if after
enjoying temperately, as I have fhewn
thee, thou muft the pleafures: thou
doft fufFer patiently and courageoufly,
what men call the ills of life.

If from beauty thy body becometh by
ficknefs weak, or by accident deformed,
what firebrands are not quenched, what
adornment of mind is fuggefted by thia
great favour, which will remain with
thee in thine old age, in thy bed, in thy
bier, in thy grave, and bear thee up in
beauty to heaven !

DEFORMITY OF BODY. 225

I fear the numerous evils that come
on with declining life, and thou muft
allow that deformity of body, in age
as well as in youth, is held in con-
tempt. By the evil, it is ; whofe con-
tempt is honour ! If Paris had been fo
fortunate, Troy might have ftood ; and
he might not have fallen wickedly. All
men do defire the beauty of the body !
Far otherwife: no good men defire, and
many have reje&ed, this vanity:- the
Tufcan youth, of his own accord, man-
gled his well-favoured face, which he
perceived to bp fufpe&ed of many, ene-
my to his own good name, and hurtful
to the honefty of others ; far unlike thee
in thy admiration ! If beauty may be
paffed, a low ftature is furely contempt-
able : why fo ? feeing all of this ftature
are more nimble, light, and dapper : and
P who

226 10W STATURE.

who can gainfay, that as a big man
dwelleth in a little houfe, fo may great
virtue; yea, and great courage dwell
in a fmall body. . Who ever complained
of a fihall burthen ? Truly, to be forry
that thou haft a body, fo ufeful a necef-
fary, and that thou art not oppreffed with
its load, is a fine caufe of complaint !
Virtue requireth not the ftature of the
body, but of the mind : if that be tall,
right, magnificent, and comely, it mat-
tereth not, believe me, what the other
is; no, not even in the field! Mariu*
chofe tough, not tall, foldiers ; length
of body may carry majefty, but it is feen
to diminifh from force. Alexander,
Auguftus Caefar, and King David* were
low of ftature ; and I never heacd that
this did hinder thjeir feme. $ut weak-
nefs doth oft attend the fmalL A fword

of

LOW STATURE. 227

of fteel may be hid in a rotten fcabbard,
and a found mind in a crazy body : If fb,
thou art not indeed meet to bear burthens,
nor to dig and plow land ; but for honeft
ftudies, and juft fuperiorities : as in a
fhip, the ftronger fort are fet to handle
the axe, but the wifer to guide the helm.
If weaknefs doth repulfe thee from vjler
functions, rejoice thpu in the more
noble ; and leave the others to plough-
men, failors, anjl fmiths, Milo, and
Hercules, in age, could not excel thee
in defired ftrength; but the ftrength
of Socfates, Solon, Neftor, and Cato;
did not decay with the veflels in which
it was mclofed. There is a meafure in
all ftrength : Nature is moft bountffal.
The elephant and the oxe fhe hath made
much ftroftgef than any man. Doft
thou then Complain that (he has not made
P 2 , thee

228 SICK N E SSi '

thee an oxe or an elephant ? Believe me,
fhe diftributeth to her children every
thing that is fufficient for them ; and is
more loving toward them, then they are
toward their own offspring. Inequality
is the beauty of the world : take away
variety ; and the world mufl; needs perifh.
But if the body is fickly, fure that is to
be complaihed of? By no means; for
ficknefs, is the guardian of modefty,
and the friend of religion ! thy body be-
ing only a certain houfe of thy mind.
It will laft a few days, the time of thy
fojourning ; or if it fall down, it will be
thy happy egrefs from it, to an everlaft-
ing and undecaying manfion ! — The
ftrortg in body and weak in wifdom, are
moft like to beafts. That excellent
man, tvho from a low degree, from the
water and his fi/hing nets, was advanced

to

:■ ■■-.<■«£

SICKNESS AND POVERTY. 229

to the fkies ! and made a keeper of the
gates of heaven ; whofe only fhadoW- .
drove away the fickneifes and infirmities
of the body, being demanded fometime,
why he fuffered his own daughter to be
molefted with a grievous ficknefs ? an-
fwered,;It is profitable for her it be fo,
as much as in thee lieth, cure thy own
foul j and thy body will either be cured,
or freed by the heavenly Phyfician ! But
it is painful to be fick. Certainly : and
ho pain is, for the prefent, joyous, but
grievous ; neverthelefs, it is a fine, a
glorious pain ! for it wprketh the fruits
of righteoufnefs in the patient. But
poverty muft be grievous ! — yet fhe pre-
ferved the city of Rome many hundred
years; and when ihe left it, the city
fell : But poverty in a houfe is lament-
able ! her entrance is fomewhat fharp

23O . POVER'TY,

and bitter ; and like a wayfaring man,
armed at all points : but when once re-
ceived into familiarity, fhe will be a
gueft, nothing fumptuous, indeed ; but
quiet and gentle. How can that be, when
fhe breaketh the fpirit ? The fpirit of
the proud fhe breaketh, but pot the
fpirit of the hpmble : grievous to thofe
that withftand her, but pleafant to them
that give her place : them fhe preferveth
from manifold evils ; for fhe is a pafling
diligent watcher; fhe faveth, them
from thieves, and pleafures which arc
worfe then thieves ! from.abfurd judg-
ments of outward appearance ; from the
u - infamy of covetoufnefs and prodigality ;
who fet in the wide halls of the rich :
but in the cottages of the poor, there is
no room for pride ; no florc for envy ;

no fear of loffes-nor of deceit ; hor far-

1

feits

POVERTY. 2 JI

feits and loathfomenefs ; nor of the gout : ,
that unfailing queft of the rich! all
which being ihut out of doors, health,
quietnefs, and virtue, fhall have the
larger entertainment : and they will
bring their own welcome : But to be
denied proper food and apparel, cannot
b6 a domfort. Virtue is pleafed with a
very little : Vice with no bleffing that can
be given her. Virtue denieth nothing
but what would hurt being granted;
and taketh away nothing but what it is
profitable to lofe : fhe defereth nothihg:
fhe commandeth nothing — {he pludteth
not bade her hand : fhe ffowneth not :
fhe looketh not ftrangely : fhe defpifeth
no mail : fhe foffaketh no man : fhe
deceiVeth no man : fhe chafeth not, (h6
rageth not, fhe changeth not ! fhe is v
always one, and every where to be found
P 4 ' tf

234 POVERTY OF GREAT PERSONS.

But if a mind as well as goods are want-
ing, what muft a wretch then do ? The
firft maketh light, but the fecond
wretched indeed, being wholly men's
own fault ; unlefs fry accident deprived
of their wits, none can make this
complaint with truth ; but ye want fuel
for your covetoufnefs, and in that ye dd .
indeed want all things: as to poverty*
underftanding will turn it to wealth; I
do not mean riches, .but fucti wealth as
Valerius Publico, Menenius Agrippa>
and Paulus i£meliiis, conquerors of the
Macedonian kings pofleft : the firft were
£q poor as to be buried by the public;
and the latter was obliged to fell his
, fends to reftore his wife's dower, Atti-
lius JRegulus, . Quintus Cincinnatus, and
Cnaeu&- Scipio, were fo poor, yea in houfe-
hold provifions, that the one of them

becaufe

GREAT MINDS TN POVERTY. 235

becaufe of Ac death of his farmer, the
other, for the dower of his daughter,
were conftrained to beg their difcharge
feom the fenate; but the- fenate, con- .
fill ting better for the commonwealth, did
relieve thefe moft excellent citizens; and
while throne was tilling hisfour pooracre?
of land; to him was the ftate committed ;
thefe did contemn riches, and having no-
thing but iron weapons, right, hands, and
moft rich minds, vanquifhed their ene-
mies^ wSith their fuppofed invincible goldl
Nor only $ few citizens, but all Rome,
while poor, was the fountain of truo
riches: but Nero, and Heliogabulus,
who would forfooth ufe* Ao veffel but
of gold for- the burthen of hi* ftomach
to be received in* when he well knew
that the meats of the firft glorious men*
and even the facrifices of the Gods!

were

236 GREAT MINTDS IN POVERTY,

were wont to be ferved in earthen vef-
fels, they did overthrow that mighty
empire ! — Thou doft well fee, that
to pafs life in travel has been the lot
of the beft, and the prefervation of

empires ! Cleanthes was conftrain-

ed by need to draw water to water
the herbs his garden fupplied for his
food ; and Plautus to lift up loads of
corn upon a hand engine : how great a
philofopher was the one, how admired
a poet the other ; and when their work
was done, part of the night wherein
they fhould have taken their reft, fuch
was the courage of their minds, the one
applied to philofbphy, the other to the
writing of comedies to fell them for
bread. Horace was born poor though
raifed $ Pacunius lived poor 5 Virgil was
fometime a poor man ; until contrary

to

CHRIST OUft LORD ! IN POVERTY. 237

to the common cuftpm, riches happened
unto his wit ; but more courage is fctn
in thofe pious men, who gladly chofe not
only poverty, but hunger, thirft, naked-
nefs, and mifery, to preferve their in-
tegrity !

If by thefe ye are not moved, behold
him by whom kings do reign ; born in
poverty, living in poverty, bearing all
mifery but fin, and fattened to the
bitter crofs ! He whom all the elements
obeyed — dying for the love of men !
And yet they infolently contemn, or
foolifhly arraign, that very poverty which
was thus glorified ! But beggary muft
needs give difmay ? Even from beggary,
a ftate feldom needful but through idle-
nefs. or accident, men have rifen : Caius
Marcus on a time hid himfelf in the

fens,

238 ADVANTAGES OF POVERTY.

fens, and begged a little morfel of bread ;
and Julius Caefar, who left fo rich a
teftament, was in the greateft ftraights
when a young man. All this may be,
but great poverty is a heavy thing ! I
trow not: fince it makes the poffeflbr
humble, light, and full of liberty. ■

They that go on a dangerous journey
fhould not be incumbered, they fhould
go light : thieves indeed thou fhalt want;
and ftubborn fervdnts, and feigned
friends, and fawning parafites, perad-
venture a dilcontented wife, and all the
houfehold flock of thofe that will laugh
with thee to thy face, but mock at thee
behind thy back ! Surely to fpeak no-
thing of fecurity, humility, modefty,
and fobrietyj if poverty brought nona
'^■bther good than thy deliverance from
the tyranny of proud fervante and de-
ceitful

SPARE DIET. 239

ceitful friends ; there were caufe fuffici-

ent not only to fuffer but to wifh for

1

poverty ! But no one can wifh for a fpare
diet, that cannot be commended! — Yet
the lovers and patrons of virtue have
delighted in it ? Plato advifed againft
filling the ftomach twice in one day:
Epicurius fet his pleafureon Jaerbs and
fallads ; and Cicero enforces this : beafts
are faid to devour : but indeed, it is ac-
cording to due meafure : not fo the
lords of beafts who exceed all propor-
tion and all meafure.

But fome men may be faid to come
into the world poor, to be indeed poor
before they are born. They muft have
a good memory if they did remember it 5
and a moft delicate feeling if they did
perceive it! However thou waft bora

thou

Z/p A COMPANY OF CHILDREN*

thou fhalt die poor, unlefs the hung
chamber and the golden funeral may
warm thee in the laft fhivering fit of the
ague; or the feathers that wave over thy
bier, recal thee with their pomp from
thy dark inclofure. Is it fo, that as
trappings and gallant furniture pleafeth
an horfe, they will likewife pleafe the
cheft that is borne to thy fepulchre !
Poverty hath alfo this final and great ad-
vantage ; it will make thee depart with
a calm and indifferent mind ! Thofe can-
not fb live, or fo depart ; who are over-bur-
thened with a world of children. To call
children a burthen ! who are ever ac -
counted the chief gifts of felicity, hap-
peneth only unto covetous and unthank-
ful men. But to have a company of
children, and live in need is dreadful X
If they be made good and ufeful by their

parents,

I

CHILDREN. 24I

parents, it is always feen they are an eafe
and a fervice to them; otherwife it is
not their number but their manners that
is to be complained of : but to be hemed
in by an army of children ? And why
not fay accompanied, defended, and
beautified ! truely, not fathers only but
mothers alfo have termed children their
jewels: as did the famed Cornelia, when .
a very rich gentlewoman of Campania
womanifhly fpread forth her fair orna-
ments before her: and wilt thou call
them impediments? Camelia was rich;
but how can a poor man feed fuch a
poffe of children ? He that feedeth
not only men, but fifhes, beafts, and
fowls, ihall give meat to the induftrious :
he that cloatheth the fheep with wool,
the fields with grafs and flowers, and
the woods with leaves and branches,

CL fhall

242 CHILDREN.

fhall cloathe them ? And who can tell
but ,they (hall not only feed and cloathe,
but defend and honour their parents.
The plentiful poverty of many I grant ;
but it is needful : what but this produces
the fundry trades, and the manifold arts of
life- O y how many children: have I ?
Not more than King Priam* who had
fifty j or Orodes,. King of the Parthians,
who had thirty ; or Artaxeraxes, a
hundred and fifteen:: But thefe were the
children of kings,* and they lacked no-
thing. They wcarevrfieir power and force,
and fo may thine be : was Appius Clau-
dius a. king:? no, he was poor and alio
blind y yet Tully writing of ham, faith,.
five fbns and five daughters, a great fa-
mily, and a great refort of fuitors did
Appius govern, being both blind and
ci: human, defe&s conlift in the man-
ners,

C I* 1 L DREtl, 343

ners, not in the things: Appius had no
ftate nor riches, neither did he defire
them ; but being content with his own
calling, he decked up his fmall htfufe,
not with rich furniture, but with many
virtues, and maintained his family with
a temperate diet ; thus wifely conform-
ing his appetite to his ability; he was
neither Croefus nor Craflus, but happier
than either. He lived not after the pa-
tern of others, but as all good men dd f
after the patern of his own revenue :
princes feed daintily, and drefs bravely !
but it is not feen they live longer*- no nor*
pleafanter : and fb fafe, fb honeft, and fo
virtuous, they may fcarcely live ; but to
fay truth far more foolifhly : and there-
fore not merrily ! it is a proverb from
fad; merry in a cottage, fad in the court.
But fuch a profufion of children driveth
Q^2 away

244 DAUGHTERS,

mirth, and bringeth knawing care. What
have the poor children done that they
fhould have all thy reftlefs mind heaped
on them ? A ftrange impatience to be
opprefled with the real fource of felici-
ty: believe it, thine is the defedt, not
thy children.

What can a man do with fo many
daughters ? who will give them dowrys ?
There is one God of all -, he feedeth his
fons and his daughters, all are his
children, and he will endue all with the
gifts and arts whereby they may live,
and become honourable: truft in him
and he will do it ! What thou haft to
do, is to bring up thy daughters, that
they may be well liked, loved, and fought
by thofe of upright judgment, without a
dower. — Fauftina had the Roman em-
pire

DAUGHTERS. 245

pire to her dower : yet how many wo-
men without dower have been more
chafte, and more fortunate. Endeavour
thou that thy, daughters not their money,
may be defired ; that their honcfty, their
modefly, their integrity, their patience,
their humility, their faithful obedience to
thee, may be the precious jewels which
adorn them, and attradt others to them :
with this fine gold ! with thefe modeft vir-
tues, they will haveafweeter life in houfes
of honeft hufbands than is to be found in
the palaces of kings and the courts of
princes ! But gold is defirable and ne-
ceflary. As to that gold, that is drofs
and meer metal, though good for many
purpofes 1 yet is it converted to fad ufes;
to the fale of innocence, to the dejedtion
of modefty, and to the moft (hameful nig-
gardlinefs of fpirit ! as it were fire to hang
CU the

246 STINGY SON.

the nofe over, rather then for diftribu-

tion. A certain noble and worthy gen-r

tleman in Italy, rich in ancient poffef-

fions but richer in virtues, howbeit not

<b in money, of which having but little

he governed that little accordingly : — -

£iad a fon, his eldeft, who through great

diligence in the judicial courts, and a

uioft fparing turn of mind, got together

-a huge mafs of gold : and it was ftrange

to behold in the father youthful bountir

fulnefs, with his little ; and in the fon,

aged avarice with his plenty. His father

oft times exhorted him not to defraud

himfelf of his own, but to enjoy it, and

;help his old mother, his young brethren,

bis kinsfolk, and the poor; this he often

4poke to his fon, but, as faith the pro-

yerb ; tell not a tale to the deaf, nor yet

fo tfaeoyzpus. It happened not long

after,

STINGT SON. 247

after, the young man was fent about af-
fairs of the commonwealth unto the
Pope of Rome, with certain fpecial men.
His father took occafion for his cure to
liave keys made by prints, to the doors
of his chamber and bis cheft, and took
away the treafure oat of that huddng
den where it lay, -and profited hobody ; and
with it bought a fair houfe and furniture,
^md all the things neceflary for a gentle-
man's eftate ; and 1 moreover gave mudi
to the poor ; and the bags from whence
he took the money, he filled Ml of fand
and gravel ; and fealing them up fafdy,
left them where he found them, and
making every thing &ft, departed. On
the return of the young man, he went
immediately, as was his cuftom, to his
coffers, which viewing all fealed and
fafe he contented himfelf for the ^prefent,
0^4 but

248 STINGY SON.

but fhortly after when his fundtion was
entirely finifhed, he would not reft till
he gave himfelf the dear delight of open«-
ing his bags, and pouring forth 40 his
fight his beloved money ! (hutting faft
therefore the door, greedily breaking the
feals, and finding his gold turned to fand ;
he made a loud outcry : — his father came
running haftily, and faid what is the
matter, fon, why doft thou cry out -and
weep ? Oh, father, faid he, I have loft
all my money, which with fo much la-
bour, watching, and trouble, I had got-
ten together, and laid up in thefe bags:
I am robbed thereof in this houfe. —
How art thou robbed, anfwered the
father; do I not fee thy bags full even
to burfting ? — Oh, father, faid he weep-
ing piteoufly, but it is fand not mo-
ney ! — Then anfwered the old man,

with

SURETYSHIP. 249.

with a countenance nothing changed;
what fkilleth it fon to thefe whether they
be full of fand or money, fince the one
is as good fhut up faft as the other, and
none are then lofcrs : go thy way and
enjoy what is thy own. — But by gold
we may become furety for a friend ! —
Give ever to thy poor or unfortunate
friends as thou art able ; gold, filver,
wine, oil, corn, cloth, houferoom, .
counfel, and comfort, but keep to thy-
felf thy fweet liberty; and never let
that go from thee to any other ! to give
afTurance for another at a diftant time
is fuperfluous, if thou canft give him
freedom; if not, it is folly; for the day
of payment in this life is not long after
the day of promife; and events to thy-
felf are not to be meafured for hereafter;

while

2$0 SURETYSHIP.

while the wheel of fortune turneth con-
tinually. Thales faid it was a lofing call
to enter into furetyfhip; and the poet
Aufonius, become a furety, and thou
art near a fhrewd turn. The fire of
purgatory fhall not be Aaid till thy de-
ceafe, for this error carries its purgatory
daily with it, hampering and knawing
the mind: I know fcarcely a greater evil,
except thou haft light on an unquiet;
wife, wet chaff fet on fire; tiles clattering
down about thy head, and fuch a wife
are pretty iufficient for a man to drive
him but of doors.

All women .are ©ot of that bad na-
ture. — God forbid ! but fome, and great
ones <too, have been worfe; they have
put their hufhands quite out of hearing;
as the wife of Agamemnon and Scipio

Africa-

W I V E 8. 2$i

Africanus: If &ults cannot be cor-
rected, and corre&ion is difficult, they
muft be borne; for the blame of thy
choice lies in thy own careleflhefs and
mif-judgment, or thy motives that may
have juftly deceived thee : if thou didft
aim at her bags, and not at her temper
of mind, thou muft endure the bed thou
haft made for thyfelf to lie on > if hard,
fo was thy motive ; the more caufe for
thy patience: learn of Socrates and
Hadrian, and Auguftus, that moft ex-^
cellent and courteous prince ; who were
troubled with crabbed and unquiet peices
in Sabina and Scribonia ; nay, and alfo
with rough behaviour, well deferring to
be divorced as man thinketh, but meet
for patience in the eyes of a better
judge, who commandeth no one to put
away his wife for fuch matters !

To

252 WIVES.

To whom may not this happen, feeing
the motives to marriage are often fo bafe,
and the wifeft err : even Cato, of a
Yevere and invincible mind, unquietly
married with a fierce and proud woman,
and of a low ftock ; which I mention,
that no man may hope to efcape fuch
trouble by thus matching, any more than
by the rich and the proudly nurtur-
ed; for 'all lieth in the mind in both
ftates ; if that is unfought, quietnefs is
vainly hoped for; but the love of going
from home is moft certainly purchafed;
diflike to return, and the tongue and the
flick will be kept in continual exercife. —
Yet may a man be patient feeing his wife
is not unfaithful: — An evil far more bit-
ter, fince it marks with doubt the chil-
dren thou irayft breed up for thine

own,

HUSBANDS. 253

own, and a company of fuch fufpe&ed
innocents would be a difmay to thee
indeed !

There are hufbands alfo of very hard
tempers, who require that virtue in their
wives they will not take care of in them-
felves ; they roam about and prey upon
their neighbours ; but if their wives are
feen in the open ftreet, or any man doth
but look at them, or the poor wife
glances an eye on one fide, they cannot
abide it, and ftraight accufe them of
guilt! while they ftile their own corrupt
manners gallantry; and giving all liber-
ty to themfelves deny any to their wives,
as though they were their tyrants not
their hufband's, and women not their
fellow creatures in the houfe and family
both of God and man ; but rather their

hand-

254 F A T ft £ k 8,

handmaids, taken prifoners in battle, or
bought for money ; and as though the
wife owed more fervice or fidelity than
the hufband, when there ought to be
like duty, equal love, and mutual fide-
lity in marriage : but theft follies, this
injuftice in man, is fb much the more
cenfurable by how much the example
of gravity and wifdom is more required
in them; yea, it hath happened and
that not feldom: that for want of
fuch an example in a father, a whole
family has been ruined, and the daugh-
ters have been let to wander about
without guard ; whofe beginnings ought
to have been well looked to : the fashion-
ing of young things at firft is eafy ; they
fhould never be fuffercd to be idle, or
allowed the trappings of luxury, .to make
them vain andinfolcnt: they fhould be

fet

M (XT VL E K S. 2$$

fetto fe wing, and houfhold afiairs, and
whatever can employ and improve their
minds : they fhould be* taught filence,
humility, and attention^ and fhouki have
a beloved wknefs, as a judge of their
manners always near, not interefted per-
fons, ufing- gentle encouragement and
mild warnings ; and then it is probable
feverity w21 not be : needed. Labour
and bufinefs, courtefy, and obedience;
thefe are the doors, and bars, of honefty,
induftry, aftid chaftky in thy feveral chil-
dren; but a vile example in the parent,
that is* at the head, is deftrudtion ! Ibme-
tknes it caufeth the wife to go aftray
herfelf, or to abandon a houfe rendered
fo melancholy ; or peradventure to die
for gritff in it: or if fhe lives, it is a life
of daily death fb to fpeak, with a dif-
Qrdered family, and a faithlefs hufband !

There

•m

2$6 HUSBANDS AND WIVES.

there are thofe who would almoft allow the
injuftice of wives, rather than the want
of children to inherit their patrimony ?
Truly there are of all forts, both huf-
bands and wives ! fome that are hemed
in with an army they want to get rid
off; and others who wail for their de-
privation: and others that they never
had any! all fuch complaints are wretch-
ed folly: if the latter had bore the
wifhed for fon, what manner of man
might he have proved ! fuch an one,
perhaps, as might have caufed the father
to wifh he had never feen the light. Had
the mother of Nero, Caius Caligula, and
Commodus, been barren, the earth,
which could hardly bear them, would
have been freed from fuch monfters !
What a daughter alfo had Auguftusj

what

ENVY OF MERIT. 2tf

what a fon the beloved Germanicus I
Thus infamy fometimes fpringeth out of
light ! But this .is not the ordinary
courfe of Providence, nor does fuch in-
famy afcend in fuch cafes : and though
it m^y be refle&ed by fome weak or ill
minds, it will vanifh quickly as the^
beams of the fetting fun. Confcience
under all the winds of {lander is the
haven, the clofet of peace, to which
every good man may retire and rejoice
in his own bofom. The ftain of infamy
is more often the work of envy, than of
defert : if fuch a man as Scipio Africanus
could receive it, why fhould others com-
plain ? fools love to infult and to jeer
over thofe they know their fuperiors r
but their jeers arc the praife of the vir-
tuous, (hewing their .diftajice from fuch
(landerers whofe whirlwinds of ignorance
R ihaketh

2$$ ENVY OF MERIT.

fhakcth hot them j or if it fhake, over-
throweth not : It is a certain token of
excellence to fall by the tongues of thofe
barkers, for common minds muft have
fomething to prattle about, fome one to
growl at : But for a time only their din
lafteth : pofterity will judge more juftly
than the prefent age, of all wife men !
Endure all things therefore for virtue's
fake ! That noble queen who will reftore
the true luftre to every man's fame ! to be
cenfured unjuftly, is an advantage : but
to be praifed unworthily brings no re-
medy : and therefore it is faid, whofo
offendeth not in words, is a perfeft man ;
but alfo adds the fame writer, no man
can tame the tongue, that unquiet mif~
chief — hence the proverb, flow to praife
but more flow to difpraife. This pre-
ferves from «mfaithful friends ! Surely the
- evii

INGRATITUDE. 4$£

wil will of friends is very unnatural for
fpeaking well of them ! Yet is it a moft
common thing, yea among relations ; and
which is more, among parents and chiU
dren, brothers and fillers, nay hufbands
and wives ! there is no degree of kindred
exempt from ill-will, at fome time or
other of their lives : thofe who lived well
together in childhood, in youth fall out for
inheritance; and when old, for legacies .
As to intimates proving unthankful and
hard, they may well be dropped who
appear to be of fuch a nature; as JCato
advifes, rip up, faith he, thpfe common
friendships that do not anfwer, and
plague not thy felf perpetually. A thank-
ful temper is praifed by barbarians : no
people, fo favage, who do not commend
it. I will have nothing to do with the
unthankful ! Take heed that thou art not
R a one

26o A CENSORIOUS TEMPER.

one of them thyfelf! do not love finding
fault, and diffe&ihg as it were the qua-
lities of thy friend : which (harp cau-
terifing will more hurt thy friend than
thy kindnefs may have done him good.
. It is a common but moft unpleafant evil
to be preffing upon the errors of others ;
unveiling and laying them bare : a
man gains a moment's repute hereby to
himfelf, with years of difcontent from
thofe he ufes fo roughly. Of all tempers
this is the moft unfriendly to aflfe&ion,
and is this unthankfulnefs in thee if thou
art guilty of it : and by indulging it :
thy former benefits will becotae void*

But what is to be done with import
tunate neighbours, who are proud and
tattling, and who, do what I can, will
break in upon me ?-^The Satirick poet

faith.

TROUBLESOME NEIGHBOURS. 26l

faith, there is greater agreement among
. ferpents and wild beafts, than among men ;
forbeafts are fbmetimes at quiet, but
men never ! and it oft happeneth, that
where there is moft plenty, of near
neighbours, there is the greateft diftance
of minds and good will; fpite goes not
fo far as the kings of Arabia or India :
flie is blear eyed, and cannot fee afar off,
therefore fhe takes up her abode among
near neighbours $ and if thou wouldft be
entirely difcharged of this mifchief thou
muft go hide thyfelf in the wildernefs !
indeed it is better to live in a defart than
to wound others or be wounded ones felf
continually, hut all fhould hate in this
world even their bittereft enemies, as if
they were to love and rejoice in them, in
the next : and therefore gentlenefs and fu-
perior curtefy is the proudeft diftindion

262 CONTEMPTUOUS NEIGHBOURS.

of a man, who is forbidden to revenge
him on any, and to bear patiently what
he cannot amend : much of the envy
there is among neighbours muft therefore
be borne, if thou wilt live among men ; for
it is as univerfal as their abodes : look into
all lands, all ages, perufe all hiftories, thou
flialt fcarcely find a man of any excel-
cellency free from this peftilence. Cow-
ardice and mifery may efcape envy, but
AC degree of excellence, however fmalL — *
But it is hard to endure contempt for
virtue ! .— - It is hard then to be joined
with great men ! Therfites contemned
Achilles; Zoilus, Homer, Auguftus,
Virgil, and Cicero : but above all,; He-
rod, the moft vile and miferable of all
men, contemned Chrift our Lord ! but
what did this contempt hurt either the
contemned, or $yail t"he contemner ? —

But

•SCOXHFUL NEIGHBOURS* 263

Butfcorn is not to be borne ! — By him
that would have God to love hiiii, it is
not only to be borne, but to be pitied !
for he that defpifeth his brother, can he
expedtthat God will be his friend ?~-r
Surely, then, no one can be more piti-
able than fuch a forlorn wretch : alfo by
foftnefs, hatred maybe appealed : i mo-
defty lias melted down eftvy* and worthy
deeds muft in the end oVierbear contempt r
than Brutus none more contemned, at
the beginning, but afterward -no man
more highly efteemed.~~But is a tyrant
alfo to be borne-? — Perhaps the ftate
hath need of punifhmentj and then he
will be the executioner of God's juftica
Punifhment, furely, is an evil thing ! But
it is profitable againft vice; and as a
foridle to the unbridled $ and thole who
R 4 know

264 WRETCHED STATE OF TYRANTS.

know not how to love virtue muft be
taught to fear her by calamity: for this
end are tyrants permitted by God ! as
alfo for their own punifhment ; for no-
thing is more miferable than a tyrant,
which if thou doubt, behold Damocles
with his pendant fword ! But there is a
difference in this point! — The mifery of
the people doth appear, but the mifery
of the tyrant lyeth clofely hidden.

Doth the wound that is covered with
a purple robe gall with lefs fharpnefs ?
Do fetters of gold pinch a man lefs than
fetters of iron? or do tyrants efcape
the hiffings of the people while yet un-
revenged ? yet is this revenge by no
means to be taken without clear difcern-
ment of its juftice and neceflity : the in-
nocent are not to be driven headlong

out

-SEVERE FATHER, 265

out of life to punifh the guilty: but
where more would perifh if the latter
were continued, which is very difficult
of .difcernment, and appertains not to
weak Judgments and violent fpirits I
The philofophers have laid, nothing vio-
lent continues long, which if true, vio-
lent evils cany their own remedies, and
the intervention of men muft follow, not
force the tumult. — But if for die quiet
of the ftate a tyrant is to be fbme time
borne with, is a hard father alfo to be
fubmitted to ?- — What may he have fuf-
fered from thy obftinacy while a child j
or thy folly when a youth ! fee that by
oppofing thou be not hard unto him,
and an evil example to his family: his
troubles may have caufed him to be four ;
perhaps his troubles for thee, — If thy
father is hard, thy mother may be moil

gentle

.266 A LOVING MOTHER.

gentle and kind, and may need thy ut-
moft care to foftenf hit anguifli, which
difobedience to thy father would increafe :
believe me, nothing fo loving > r to a
i parent's care as the gentfenefs of a child;
if parent and child contend fweetly which
fhall excel in love, let them, have the
victory upon whom the fountain of hea-»
venly charity is moft copioufly flied.
I have a loving mother. — Remember
then well, that thou waft firft a burden,
afterward a^ bitter pain, and; laftly, a
continual carefulnefs unto her : think
of the fleeps, the meals, the pleafures
thou haft broken, by thy crying, thy
falling, thy tricks in childhood, and the
dread of thy death : in youth ! how
many wretched mothers have ended
their . lives from their fears in after ; as
well as from their agonies at the be-

brethren's divisions. 267

ginning of a child's life. — After the
(laughter of Thrafymene, two mothers,
who'believing their fons flain in the bat-
tle, ran forth to be affured how the mat-
ter was, perceived them coming in fafe-
ty; but not being able to fuftain fuch a
flood of joy, they died on the fpot. — *
By fuch examples it is verified,, that
amongft men there is no greater ingra«*
titude than that which is fhewed againft
the mother. I have alfo good brethren 2
A marvel ! the firft that were in this
world was evil; and were we to fpeak
of the after-comers in fraternity, what
horrors or ill treatment muft we relate —
But to pafs thefe, few brethren do love
., truly, owing, poffihly to the great equa-
lity : as to brothers, they fhould be pa-
rents to their fitters, if they lofe their
CWthiy parent y but they too often anfwer

as

*6& MOTHER-IN-LAW.

as did furly Cain, and though they do not
till with a weapon they flay the heart. —
How few children can abide a ftep dame £
this alfo is an evil that Wants remedy,
lor indeed thofe who take the care of a.
fcmily, not their own ; are more worthy
of companion and love than of repulfe if
they adt juftly ; for all eyes are on them,
and all tongues againfl: them : and with
thefe the humours of children combine
to weary them out of their lives ; and
every ill in the children is imputed to
them : but the wife, judge otherwife,
and when the father is gone, the truth is
beheld. When he that was wont to
care for all is gone, then muft the care^
lefs care for themfelvea !

I could not endure the lofs of my mo-
ther ! Yet nature tells thee thou muft

endure

ADOPTED CHILD, 269

endure it t mild and good thou doft fay
(he has been, and couldft thou grudge
her refting from labour, and afcending
to everlafting peace ! Moft likely her
death would be acceptable to her, fear-
ing flie might fee thofe fo before her whom
fhe fo loved : and then would fhe depart
in forrow and grievous lamentation. I
marvel from what I feel and behold, that
any one can bring up a child not their
own ! he is -child to the common father,
and charity is the fofterer -, and therefore
the deed is precious to God ! Why love
the children born in the private houfe,
and not the children born in God's
houfe ? Innocence is its prote&ion $
whatever was the deed of its parents,
it is dear to the good. But many
fufped their wives, and ill-treat their
own children on this account : Grie-
vous

27O „ JEALOUSY.

vous folly worthy of punifhmeilt !
There was a certain nobleman who
had to wife, a gentlewoman of equal
beauty and parentage, but fomewhat
doubted ; by her he had one moft beau-
tiful fon, whom, when his mother held
in her lap, on a time perceiving her
hufband figh and look careful, (he de-
manded of him what was the caufe of
his heavinefs : he fighing again replied,
I had rather than one half of my lands
that I were as fure this boy were mine,
as thou art that he is thine: whereto
flie anfwered, not a whit, moved either
in mind or countenance : truly the mat-
ter fhall not coft thee fo great a price,
give me an hundred acres of pafture land
whereon I 1 may feed my cattle, and I will
refolve thee in this matter : then fend-
ing for fuch noblemen and gentlemen as

dwelt

JEALOUSY. 27T

dwelt near at hand,, and caufing her
hufband to give his word for the per-
formance of his promife, fhe held up her
young Ion in her arms, and turning
him to the company; Is this my child
indeed, faid (he ? And when they all an-
fwered, Yea, ftieftretched forth^herarms^
and delivered him unto her hufband *
Here, faid file, take him, I give him
thee freely y and now be affured that he
is thine ! Then all that ftood by broke^
forth in laughter, gave judgment on the ,
woman's fide, and condemned the huf-
band by all their verdidts. The like to
this is oft titties feen; the firft days of
marriage are fpent in revels, the refidue
of life in fufpicion and brawls: In both
to blame ; for as die beginning was un r
feemly, the end cannot be well ; at leaft
furely the firft year fhould be dedicated

to

/

2J2 NECESSITY OF DOMESTIC VIRTUES

to domeftic peace and honefty, if all
others fhould wretchedly fail : of which
there is a memorable ftory and a merry
one on a fhore near to the ocean, and
lying right over againft Britain, a certain
poor woman, fair and well favoured, but
a notable harlot, who had twelve fmall
children by as many feveral men, each
of them but a year older than the other,
being lick, when flie perceived that the
hour of death was come, fbe caufed her
hufband to be called unto her: this is no
time to diffemble, faid fhe, there is none
of all thefe children thine, but the eldeft
only : for the firft year that we were
married I lived honeftly : it chanced that
at the fame time, all the children fate on
the ground, round about the fire, eating,
according to the manner of the country :
•—at which words the good man was

amazed*

SUSPICION USELESS. 273

amazed, and the children heard their
mother's words, whofe fathers fhe rec-
koned up all by name as they were in or-
der of years ; which thing the youngeft
of thefe children hearing, he immediate-
ly laid down his bread, which was in his
right hand, and the rape root which he
had in his left, upon the ground before
him, trembling with fear and holding
up his hands, after the manner of them
that pray ; Now good mother, quoth he,
give me a good father: and when end-
ing her fpeech, fhe told who was father
to the youngeft, namely.a certain famous
rich man : — the child taking up his bread
and meat again into his haods : that is
well, faid he, I have got a good father !
All fufpicion is ufelefs ; fropi whence is
faid, better to be deceived than to doubt.
And truly if happinefs is'defiredit is lb,
' S for

274 FRIENDSHIP.

for doubt is an endlefs pain : and when
thofe we doubted die, the grief is fharp-
er. But true friends are never doubted !
Indeed meft are more delicate with
friends than thofe born in the houfe, or
united in . wedlock ; and the reafon
feemeth this, they may depart at a mo-
ment in grief or quarrel, and therefore
greater care is ufed. But even thefe be-
came at fometimes wearifome, and at
others feel offended for trifles : and if
the offence is fmothered, it anon blazeth
out the more ftrongly j but when the
friend is gone all his good is remembered,
all thefweetnefs, and none of the cares and
anxieties : no more anger or forrow for
ihort ftaysor fordepartings; but all is alive
to the heart, and alive in reality, though
abfent for a fhort fpace : wherefore Lelius
laid, my friend Scipio liyeth ftill to me.

But

FRIENDSHIP. 275

But death doth moft certainly take away
the friend ! His body he taketh ; but asfor
firiendfhip and friend, that, he reacheth
not ; who could not be of fo great price
if he could be fo loft : abfent he is for a
time, and in the v fame manner as on a
jpurney to thee;- but far different to
himfelf, for he is freed from all the rocks
and fhelves to which thou art yet fub-
je&, a matter of joy to a true friend,
Jlowmany, in parts of the world diftant,
do feem to pofTefs their friends, though
the delight is taken from the eyes, but
not from the mind : and a poet faid of
fuch, they all ftand before my eyes : in
both cafes plenty and comfort dulleth;
fcarcity and Jofs fharpeneth the fenfe of
good : how much to be preferred is the
fweetnefs of fuch remembrance, than
knowing thy friend on earth, thou didft
S 2 hear

Ij6 FklEND AfiSENf.

hear of his grievous fhipwreck on fome
barren land ; of that he were drenched
in the forges of the bottomlefs fea ! how
wouldft thou then fee the mountains of
water framing ; their waves up to hea-
' ven fwelling ; what fearful tales hear in
the wintry night, whilft thou, though
warm and fafe by thy firefide felt no-
thing but chilling horror ! — Or fuppofe
thy friend, by accident or conflagration,
had fuffered the more fearful death of
burning, as did Tullus Hoftilius, who
was confumed with fire in the palace at
Rome ; and Charus the emperor, in his
tents near unto the Tigris, for what a
multitude of perfons and edifices have
pcriftied by fire; the great temple of
Diana at Ephefus, a goodlier piece of
work was never feen : the temple of
Jerufaiem, to fay nothing of little cities

and

WALKING. «77

and innumerable other places ; fo that a
friend may as well peritfi by this fo cqm-
mon mifhap as by any other accident*
And fay not 1 am hard, but it is ftill
only death: — which muft coral; and if
it come by fbfter means take refuge in
that, and reflect, that jt is oft the re-
medy for great labour of mind and wea-
rifbmenefs of body. To omit philofo-
phprs and poets, who fcarcely earn, in
their nightly vigils, their fcanty mor^
fels ! The rifing early and watching late
of artificers and labourers, of kinga
and others, I have fhewn thee; and hpw-
ever painful, it is the bafe of virtue : but
fbme men's floth is fo great they fret at
all things, and all things to thqm is a
fore mortification ; nay, a fmall journey
to them is worfe than death ! — And^
if to be taken on their feet certainly it
S3 *

278 WALKING.

is fb. — Would they then go on the feet
of another ? — Such would not, it fhould
feem, fee with their own eyes, or handle
with their own hands; would they have
another alfo tafte for them, would they
fmell with the nofe of another ; or have
them enjoy for them their mean plea-
fures : what a ftrange matter is this ! —
But it is painful to fome to ufe the
labour of walking, — Did they come then
into the world on horfeback: or will
they fo ride out of it ? is it not a madnefs
thus to make the ufe of a four-footed
beaft, always uncertain and often danger-
ous, the means of lofing and foregoing
the Angular benefit of nature, the
ufe of their own feet: unto fuch men
what might one wifh better than the
rich gout ; that is to fay, unprofitable
feet and many horfes ! A journey on foot.

hath

W A-L K I N G. 279

hath moft pleafant commodities j a man
may go at his pleafure; none fhall ftay
him, none fhall carty him beyond his
wifh; none fhall trouble him; none
fhall fhake, joftle, throw him down : he
has but one labour, the labour of nature —
to go; no bufinefs to tranfad:, no trou-
ble to fettle with his bearer : he fhall
not be conftrained to bridle and rein in '
his horfej to fpur and beat him, to
water and litter him ; to walk and rub
him, to feed and curry him; to anoint
his fore back, or to feel his dry hoofs
and dangerous fhoes ; and in the night
to have his fleep difturbed on his ac-
count. But to take a long journey on the
feet is very wearifome. ! — The Apoftles,
the meflengers of Almighty God, walk-
ed about the world ! — Sometimes they
went by water : — I grant it, but fel-
S 4 dom;

28o WALKING.

dom; and when the fituation of the
place rendered it neceffary ; but I have
not heard of their riding on horfeback,
except St. John once, with godly hafte,
to recover the foul of a loft young man,
as St. Clements writeth : as to the Lord*
of glory, he rode once on a poor afs ;
but his life was worn out on foot ; —
Thefe are divine not human examples !
The Apoftles were human, but if their
goodnefs doth burden thee, look at the
Roman armies, who were for the moft
part footmen, who not only carried their
armour and weapons on foot, but alfb
as much victuals as fhould ferve them
*nany -days; alfo munition whereby
they defended their camp in the day-
time, and their tents at night, when
they entered their enemy's bounds ! —
Unto Roman ibldiers only faid Cicero,

their

WALKING. 28l

their armour and weapons ftood them
in ftead of arms and (houlders, and when
they put on thefe warlike burthens,
then only they^ thought themfelves ap-
parelled ! — Thou, I fuppofe, doft think it
hard to walk in (hoes when the holy fa-
thers went hare in the wildernefs ? —
A lofty mind will afpire after what others
have done in much greater things, ev$ii
in difficulties, pains, and death ; but
when it is for the moft pleafant of all
sxercifes, and the moft wholefome to
man's body, where is the diftrefs ? But
the mind feels its cares in walking!
« — Noble and fweet cares of the mind
are charming company to a wife and
good man ; and if he may add to this,
the pleafant fociety of fome merry and
eloquent companion the journey fhall
not only feem fhort and light, but de-
lightful*

282 W A t K I « C,

lightful ! Many have been fo delighted
with fuch pleafant communication under
the bright canopy of heaven, and the re-
frefhing breezes of air* wafting on all
fides, that they have felt no tedioufnefs in
travel though the way was long; but have
cried out they did not feem to go but to be
carried along; and Publius faid, a pleafant
companion on the way is as good as a
waggon. But perfons muft have ftrength
to do this. — Strength cometh by ufe,
and will increafe by habit, it is general-
ly idle lazinefs, that renders men weak
in body as well as weak in mind ; to
flir and be ftirred up continually is meet
for men, and labour will ceafe to terri-
fy when an intimate, but as a ftranger
it is very formidable to pufallanimity. —
But the great dangers of fuch travels
thou wilt allow both from men and wild
.' .*• beafts.

ORfiAD OF DAGGER. 283

beafts. — I will allow the flothful mail
faith there is a lion in the way ! thieves
live in cities as well as roam on the high-
ways; Julius Caefar fell into their hands
in the capitol : in what place art thou
fafe from evil ? truly in none that I know
of: not with fo great ftudy do hunters
fet gins for wild beafts, or fowlers nets
for birds, as crafty men to deceive the
fimple: this hath its good; it produces
circumfpe&ion.— I have told thee how
Auguftus was deceived by the dying,
though an emperor; and fuch have been
the dread of thieves that men have for-
faken houfes and palaces for cots ; a very
inconvenient change, and pinching to
the mind : — No houfe is fo narrow
but that a liberal mind will add to its
dimenfions : Julius Casfar was born in
fuch a one; Romulus and Remus

brought

284 CONVENIENCE OF A COTTAGE.

brought up in a fhepherd's cottage;
Diogenes lived in a tub; and Hilorian
under a fhed; the Holy Fathers, in caves
under ground for ftillnefs; as thieves
have alfo done for concealment. —
If the walls are able to keep out thieves,
and the wind, and the tumults of the
people 1 if the roof will fence from
cold and heat, fun and rain; let the
lofty towers become as they are fit ;
dwellings for the fowls of the air, for
pride to lift itfelf up in ; for covetoufnefs
to ftow its drofs, and for luxury to de-
ftroy the health ! but virtue hath fcorn of
no habitation unlefs it be pofleffed with
vices. How many have fuilained not
only a fmall houfe but baniihment from
a great one with courage ; their trouble
hath oft gained fingular fame, as flints
ty knocking together produce bright

fparks

E X I L t. 185

fparks of fire. Caniillus was one of thefe •
who faved his ungrateful country that
had banifhed him. Marcellus and Ci-
cero employed their hours of exile as they
had been Tent to a fchool of virtue, riot
a prifoh. I think they have fuffered
great hardship to be put away from their
own country. That is accounted a bafe
mind that it fo bound to one fiHy corner
of the earth that when out of tbat, he
bewaileth: when Socrates was afked of
his country, he replied, I was born in
the world ! Every land, faith Ovid, is
to a valiant man his native country : and
Statius faith, every country is the natu-
ral foil of a man ; this is the bounty of
heaven, for it is nat *fo with meer ani-
mals who generally dwindle or perifli in
other climes. The three Sctpios went
voluntarily into banifhment, but thei*

names

286 BANISHMENT.

names remain on an everlafting founda-*
tion. The wings of the Almighty ftretch
Qver all fpace, extend beyond all time,
and cover as with a fhield the virtuous^
whether exiled abroad, imprifoned, or be-
fieged at home ! Troy was befieged, Tyre,
and Carthage; Saint Ambroife, and Saint
Auguftin, within their walls. Who is
pot befieged ? I pray thee ? fom? are be-
fieged with fin, fome with ficknefs, fome
with enemies, fome with cares, fome
with bufinefs, fome with idlenefs, fome
with riches, fome with poverty, fome
with flander, and fome with tedious re-
nown : refledt on Archemedes, when be-
fieged, how he was fheltered, his mind
was not vulnerable to fear; a poor man,
at Aretum alfo becoming very old,
was heard to fay, he had never paifed
• the

DEATH OF CITIES. 287

the city gates : it is probable if the plaGe
had been befieged, this fame quiet man
would have known no more of it than
Archemedes. But what fayeft thou if a
country is totally dcftroycd? I have
mentioned fuch to thee, when I fpoke;
of Troy and Tyre ! can a country be
immortal, when the whole world is tran-
fitory ! when the heaven and the earth
fhall fail, when the mountains and the
feas fhall be moved ? Cities have their
dying days as well as men, but they are
fewer and it happeneth feldomer ; only
fouls are unperifhing, and therlfore
the difagreement of a wavering mind
is worfe than any outward confli&s. The
factions of the ftreets are nothing like the-
factions of the foul ! thefe befiegers admit
no relief from without. — lacking this
quietnefs within, ye muft'be mifcrable^

Then

l88 UNIFOMITY OF LIFE.

Then none can be happy; for all arc
ibmetimes unquiet — Vice is always vari-
able, and therefore the many arc fo; and
are tofled about as {hips in a ftorm*

Uniformity of life k beautiful; So-
crates poffefled it among the Grecians ;
Lelius among your countrymen; even
the wounds of the body have been kifled,
and honoured. Scena, a captain of
Caefar, received this homage, as if paid
to relics : Marcus Sergius lofibg his right
hand in the Punic war, had one made
of i*>n wherewith he went to many bat-
tles* — Ciniger the Athenian, when
both hands were cut off, held his ene-
mies fhips with his teeth : thefe perfons
thought nothing of the parts of their
bodies, but of immortal fame, the only

friend

SfcCONB MARRIAGE* 2$£

friend and fafe manfion for the foul is
virtue ; flie has neither caftle nor tower*
town nor turret ! in earthly caftles all
men are fcmetime bewrayed j in this
never ! prudence and fortitude are her
centinels; juftfce, hiduftry* itid humanity
are her ftrong liries of cifciimvaUation t
none will envy, none invade this houfe
of humanity, this domicil of faith and
love! Alas! I am far from this fearlefsf
quiet, I dread the lofs of my wife ; the
unruly temper of a wretched fon, or
that dying myfelf, my wife fliduld marry
again !

If a phyficiari fhould free fhee from
a tertian feter, thou wouldft give him
both thanks and money; but what
reward wouldft thou tkihk. iufficient'

T' for

29O SECOND MARRIAGE.

for him that would rid thee of a quo-
tidian? If thou go alone, and without
luggage, thou (halt go the readier whi-
therfoever thou art going* But fhould
I die firft; what will my beloved wife
do? Perhaps (he will marry again:
what is that to thee? — What will my
dear wife do when I am gone ? — Being
difcharged from thy yoke, fhe will either
go again into bondage, or being free,
fcek how to pafs her life quietly and at
liberty.— What will my moll loving wife
do if I die ? — Doft thou afk what fhe
will do when fhe hath efcaped from
thee ? and knoweft not what fhe did
when ihe was under thy fubjedion; the
moft part of mortal men being ignorant
what is done in their own houfes,
hearken to what is done in heaven and
in earth! truly, what fhall become of

thy

SECOND MARRIAGE. 29I

thy wife, let herfelf or her next hufband
look to that, fince the care when thou
art gone will no longer appertain to
thee. — I am terrified leaft after my de-
ceafe my wife do marry again. — Why
doft thou bind thy wife to thy cold and
fenfelefs afhes ! if (he have lived faithful
and true to thee to the laft day of thy
life, then hath (he accomplished the
duty and faith ihe promifed. — O I dread
left my dear wife (hould marry again. —
Perhaps that fhe firft married {he ought
to have feared more than thou feareft her
marrying again ; that fhall appertain to
another, not to thee. — I would not, I
ponfefs, have my wife marry again. —
For a woman of an exadt and delicate
mind, I grant, although permitted by
law, it is moft corpmonly wifdom to
abftain; but there is oft occafion and
T 2 neceC-

292 SECONB MARRIAGE.

neceffity to run this hazard ; above all if
the hufband's life is fhort feeing the perif
of widows left young is great. — My fweet
' wife will marry another I forefee it ! — -
Not thy wife, for when death diffolves
the tie, (he is no longer thine : and fay
fhe marry for virtue or for affe&ion, fo
have the wives of the Roman captains,
of dukes, and emperors, and many of
them widows alfo. King David took
to wife two widows, and it may happen
that one greater than thou art, may
marry her that is now thy wife; thou
ought readily to refign to hkn thy care-
fulnefs, feeing thou goeft where there
is no marrying at all ! — I fear me I
fhall go; and fhe will marry! — If
death difiblveth the bands whereby
the foul and body are kept together*
wril may it diflblve thofc of man and
••=•--: -wife;

A BAD SON* 293

wife : ,if flae inariy a good hufband thou
ought to rejoice at her prosperity whom
thou loveflr; if a worfe than tfoyfelf, fhe
will think the more upon thee, and hold
thee more dear ; and then thou wiit ob-
tain what thou lookeft for, which is not
unlikely; for many women have learnt
the value of their firft husbands by the
involving themfelves in fecond marriages,

Befides this, I have much to fear from
the ftubborn temper of my jfon. — It is
meet that thou who couldft not bear
with the temper of thy own father,
ihouldefl: fuffer from that of thy fon, all
things come back in the courfe of time
to the a&or in human life ! every injus-
tice recoils and rebounds as it were on
itfelf, either fecretly or openly : of this
truth all would be convinced, if they
Wpuld put their eyes at the back of their
T.3 head!

. 4

294 SEDUCTION OF THE MIND.

head ! I fuffer grievoufly ! for that my
fon by his fecret wiles has beguiled the
affe&ions of innocence without any view
to the holy rites of marriage : and thus
bereaved of peace, though not of virtue !
The paw of the lion, and the tufks of
the wild boar are lefs cruel ! I fuffer from
an infolent fon ! At length, perhaps thou
doft underftand what thy father might
have caufe to think of thee, by whom he
was defpifed. — I fuiFer from a rebellious
fon. — Thou art not alone; Mithridates
that was king of Pontus ; Severus the em-
peror of Rome ; and David the king of
Ifrael, had all rebellious fons ; and many
years after a feditious young prince as
the bruit goeth, difturbed the common
quiet of the realm of Britain. — My fon
is ungodly. — A little time will fhew him
this fin; for verily no youth liveth pro-
fanely but his punifhment is at hand ;

it

A BAD SON. 295

it may be the gnawing of his heart is
already begun ! — My fon is of a flothful
mind. — Didft thou not forget what I ad-
vifed thee; the making him diligent
from a child ; haft thou taught him the
right way, or let his mind through thy
own careleffnefs go unpruned? Scipio
Africanus had a very degenerate fon, yet
he loved him ; and in truth, the want
of virtue is fo wretched a thing, that it .
has need of all thy mercifulnefe and pity !
if virtue be not in thy fon, love him be-
caufe he is thy fori; if not for that caufe,
becaufe he is a man ; if thou wilt hold
to neither of thefe, yet have companion
on his wretched ftate ! — - The bad life
my fon leads obliges me to feverity. *-*
If there remaineth the leaft /park of hope,
incline thyfelf unto mercy, and remem-
ber thou art a father, not a judge! for-
get not that faying of Terence, even for
T 4 a great

tg6 GRIEF FOR A GOOD SON,.

* great fault a father ought to. punilh
lightly, for the father with the ion muft
afcend the tribunal of God !— How la*
inentablc to me was the fon I loft ! that
fon loved and obeyed me ! — Mourn not
for him who is only gone before thee j
thy waggon is pacing on in the fame
road. — I am grieved for the lack of this
jny fon. — Not to be able to fuffer a
want for a fhort time is the. part of a
child ; unto a man nothing fhort is wor-
thy of grief; foon (halt thou findjhim
thou defireft; Plato will inftrud *thee
in this matter;. Cato himfelf ; Pericles,
and Xenophon, fcholars unto Socrates,
and fchool-fellows with Plato; they will
teach thee. Go to him that was both
?i prophet and a king ! he wept for his
child when it was lick ; but when it was
(lead he was comforted. To lament for
things irrecoverable is folly, not affec-

tion ;

DEATH OF C3&JC.9JLBK. %yj

tiqnj impatience, not piety! the Spartan
woman when told her (on was flain i*r
battle, nobly replied, therefore .did I
bear him that he fhould not fear to ^
for his eoufttry f

Linia laid down her mourning when
J*e* fpn of honourable birth, and wh0
ha4 right to the empire, was pnce laid
jnto the ground. She left off weeping,
but fhe never lfcft off the dear remem-r
braace of her child ! Cornelia the El-
der" having loft many children, yea all
that fhe had ; fomfe of whom fhe beheld
flain by the people and laying on theear tk
unburied, when as, pther wonten moft
ruefully bewailed her woeful cafe, an*
fwered them iri this wife $ Judge me not
unhappy ! that I have borne fuch fon$
is my glory. A worthy and noble Wo*
man ! that was not ftunped with the

prefenl

298 WEAKNESS OF GRIEF.

prefcnt mifery, but comforted herfelf
*with the forepaft felicity, and the re-
membrance of enjoyed good : far unlike
her fex, who impatiently moan at every
trifling grievance, and like the common
multitude, as they are forgetful and un-
thankful in profperity, fo they are whin-
ing and impatient under adverfity, an evil
condition moft injurious to prudence moft
fatal to the health both of foul and body.
And /halt not thou, being a man, bear
thy fingle grief! I am far from fuch
unheard of courage. I have loft my fon !
If he were a dutiful fbn, there is no
caufe to fear his eftate : he is well !
Death hath taken away my fon before
his time. That cannot be faid to be
done out of due time which belongeth
to no diftinft period of it • into all ages,
I have told thee, death hath a direft en-
trance,

CHIEF* 299

trance, but into youth innumerable ! I
remain without toy fon ! Had he turn-
ed againft thee as the beautiful Ablblam
did againft his father, given thee days of
care, and nights of inextricable anguifh,
and fell leagued with thy enemy ! had
he, as many children do, watchecj for
the coming of thy grey hairs ; told thy
wrinkles ; examined thy living ; found
fault with thy expences, as leflening his
patrimony, and blamed the flaying of
death from thee I Wouldeft thou have
had lefs caufe for the mourning thou
now makeft ? I am caft down by the
grievous lofs of my fon, I weep con-
tinually ! death hath deceived me — I did
not think he would have died fo foon—
great love promifeth itfelf every thing, and
will not believe but that its pleafures are
pverlafting ; this infirmity of the mind

with-

JOO GRIEF FRUITLESS.

withdraweth from the light of truth -the

greater part of human actions are fuper-*

flous: of what avail is weeping ? it may

hurt thee, hut it cannot bring thy fon

again ; as that king conceived right well

of whom I fpoke before ! Hear what Aa*

axagores faith, old men ftagger, young

men make hafte, children run headlong,

and infants at their entrance flip out of

life ! one man more fpecdily, another

more flowly ; one more ripe, another

green : but death is the goal pf all !— *

I cannot ceafe to weep for the death of

my fon. — Thou fhouldeft rather have

/wept at his birth, it was then he Ijegan ^
/ •

/ to die 5 now, he begins to live ! weep no

/ more, his perils txc pafled : place him

before thy eyes in bleffed fecurity ! every

burthen dropped, every fweetnefs per-.

fedted : yea reflect that if tears had any

fpring

ftVIL O* REPINING. $<>l

ipring above, his would flow for the
mifery he doth caufe unto thee ! believ-
ing him, thy witnefs difturb not his
blifs ! believing what is certain, . that
God beholds thee, ceafe thou to repine
at his holy mandate ! I can fcarcely
fpeak or niove I am £o heavy with grief!
Apply to fome labour, all virtue lieth oa
high ; many a crag, many a ftone, mull
be removed to attain her fummit! alt
things that produce floth are evil* I anv
weary through excels of gjrief I Thou
wilt not become light by indulging it;
if thou canft not at this prefent, labour
with thy mind, labour Wkh thy body j
that fhall help to reftorc thee > at all
times labour is good and proper: indeed
. there is nothing commendable, nothing
excellent* without travel either of mind
or body. It was labour oa which was

founded

392 USES OF LABOUR.

founded, the praife of Hercules, and the
commendation of Ulyffes ; it was labour
advanced the Roman captains ; the Sci-
pios and Camillus, the Fabii and the
Curii, the Fabricus and the Metelli! and
did not labour exalt Pompey, Hannibal,
and Julius Caefar to honour ! I have
mentioned to thee Cato and Marius : as
to philofophers, what is their whole life
but a pleafant labour of mind ! and what
the travel of artificers, who rife up early
and oft fet up late ! perufe over all forts
of men, where there is cither virtue or
fame acquired there muft be labour : the
world feemeth to be divided into labour,
pleafure, and idleness : wouldeft thou
know the difference, compare Sardana-
pulus with Hercules ; Sargius with
Regulus; Apicius with Marius ; and
Nabal wirth. Uriah! Of all flothful

things

GRIEF. 303

things grief is the firft to be difcour-
aged, for no man indulging it is fit for
ought. Grief enfeebles the body, finks
the foul, and burys it as, it were alive
in the earth ! Labour alone will cure
thi9 cruel difeafe, this enemy of com-
fort ! — Neither private men nor the
fons of kings can afcend to glory, with-
out labour : add to this, there is not
time for grief in this fliort life \ and if
thou wilt gain the next, thou muft not
grudge at that thy maker willeth thee to
bear. How beautiful was David's fub-
miflion, how wife his return to his pub-
lic duties ! Thou alfo haft duties,
though not thofe of a king, that it be-
hoves thee to attend ! rife up, fhake off
thy lethargic forrow, give an example of
fubmiflion to thofe around thee ; chear
up the temper of thy foul: fretfulnefs

fits

3$4 A! * OPPRESSED MlNfl.

fits with grief/ and oft weatys out cdril-
paffion ! let the friendly* the grateful
fhower fall t but deny not the gladden*
ing fun beams their refroring power!
be no longer thy own exile from peace,
and conceive thou truly there is no mif-
chief, nor any real evil in the whole
world hut fin. I do confefs at all times
I am filbjedt to an opprefled mind,
doubtful and wavering withki itfelf:
then the parts of thy foul are in a civil
war, I know no greater evil : it may be
faid of thy mind as of the war between
Pompey and Czefar, here flood brethren,
and there was fhed the parents' blood f
much more may this be faid of a mind
diftra&ed with everlafting cares, wound-
ing and flaying itfelf. My mind is be-*
come wavering with affliftions. As the
ague of bodies cometh through contrary

and

WAVERING MLNB. 305

and!;corrupt humour," fo contrary and
dulling affedtions engender .the ague of
minds: the more dangerous by how much
the mind is: nioite noble thah thtt body:
my mind is ever -at* defeat*— - and choofeth
not what it would v: Let it once begin
to chpofe,iand chobfe right,,! the debate
will end.; this is ! the; begiiaoingyof con-*
cord, and the endlofoftcife/ M thy felf-
dbbnfel: fails, cj&mpcl Ithy ignoble part to
obey r its .rightful ifowreign,! for : tijl that
tebroiight abdwt.^qycr. look for peace ;
and hckmg .quictneferof .mind, what is
woiJth; thy . having I lam diftra&ed, I
know 1 not I what : I : -would J HNo new
thing : I venture :. . and thou Jhaft. com -
panions enough imthts jdifeafe $ troubled
not once or twice/ butralb their, life- time,
thus ifefled about kri^l ..torineftted I Oh
how -heavily mf -ffiftpfsy oppr^fs . mfe i

U Like

306 SELF MURDER.

Like a fhip without its anchor tKou
danceft on the waves even in the fight
of port, and art a notable gazing ftock
for all men ! You are fallen from your
native feat of royalty, the dignity of your
own mind ! Why wilt thou not return
to it again! I find it impoffible; and
therefore I mean to rid me of a life of
which I am fb weary! — At one time
to fear a tiling, and at another to wifh
for it, is all the conftancy you have,
erewhile womanifhly fearing death; now
unmanly feeking the fame, I am en-
forced to feek this remedy of woe ! —
If thou be enforced then is it not a vo-
luntary ad of thy own ; truly it is no
free will; but I would fain know by
whom thou art enforced; whofo is un-
willing may have violent hands laid upon
him ; but thou canft do thyfelf no vio-

SELF MUftDER. 307

lenCe unlefs thou wert willing thereto*
There are great caufes that force me thus
to will ! — They be great indeed if they
enforce thee; but they could not enforce
thee if thou wert a man ! hearken if I
Cannot guefs the caufes even at once:
anger, difdain, impatience, a kind of
furious forgetfulnefs what thoti aft, and
to whom thou doft belong ; for if fhott
didft remember thou wert a man, thou
wouldft take all worldly chances in good
part, and not for one fmall evil* or Wi-
ther no evil at all, leap into the gfeateft
that can befei thee, defperation ! for
which no reiiiedy fhall be found* as faith
Virgil • thefe, without caufe, procured
their own death, and hating the light
poured out their own fouls! and Jie
addeth of their late repentance; how
U 2 glad

308 SELF MURDER.

would they now be to . return into this
world again, to abide poverty and all ad-
verfity ! Unquiet creature that thou art !
you muft kill yourfelf or kill another if
everything fall not out as ye would have
it : — J have fpoken to thee of revenge
and its horrible eflje&s [ The murder of
another froa* cov^toufhefs, paffion, or
luft; and the murder, of thyfelf, froip.
real cowardice, angry vexation, or unfub-
dued grief, have the famefource, and for
the- l^aft : caufe, or rather apprehended
caufe alone, both areroftimes perpe-
trated'!— thus blafpheming your Maker,
and as it were arming yourfelves and
others againft him ! *+* ye rufh * into
his holy > prefence, and* without per-
miffion quit his appointed ftanda^d I—
It is not contempt of God, it ^ex-
treme

SELF MURDEH. 309

treme mifery that makes mc choofe to
die. — Rather fay, the loathing of life,
and cowardly impotence, a common fault
among evil men and fools ! for unto the
wife and good every kindof life is pleafant ;
the happy, they accept cheerfully, the fad
they endure patiently and courageoufly ;
yea, they are delighted in the exercife of
this patience ; it is fweet ! it is precious !
it affiiageth grief; it amendeth what is
amifs ; it moilifieth that which is hard ;
mitigateth that which is fharp ; fmooth-
eth that which is rough ; and levelleth
that which is uneven! thus complaints
furceafe ; hafty and ftubborn paflions de^-
part: and all the cloudy and ftorms
which driveth thy bark on the rocks dis-
appear and vanifh away for ever ! — My
aim is death! — Thy aim is proud and
weak I didft thou make the timber and
U 3 ftone

£?Q CATO AND SENECA.

{tone of thy own building ? lookcft thou
for more authority over it than the lord
and maker, who hath not only created
the {pint, but alfo the fleih, the blood,
and the bones ; and all out of nothing !
Where is thy dominion then over thy
body; is it not the Lord's? Verily thou
art but a tenant, no mailer over this houie
of clay; he that made thee and all, i»
Lord of all! attend his command; anfwer
when thou art called, and not before!
I have Cato for my example, and Seneca
for my defence. — I grieve to condemn
fuch great men; but I have ftrangely
wondered indeed, how fb cruel an opi-
nion could enter into the heart of (b wor-
thy a man as Seneca, who does indeed
fay I will leap out of this ruinous build-
ing of my body — but O Seneca, thou
fayfjb not well F and with one disgraceful

fentence

CATO AND C-«SAR> 3II

Sentence haft clouded thy better paflages
and the brightnefs of thy mind 5 for thou
haft fpoken contrary to the command of
the moft high Lord ! — againft which l
nothing can be well done. As for Cato,
though his death was commended by
many; yet by others it was fharply re-
prehended ; among whom was Saint Au-
guftin, a moft acute fearcher after truth :
who faith it was not becaufe Cato would
not live under the empire of Csefar, he
killed himfelf, but envy of his greatnefsl
for he thought Caefar worthy to grant
life to his Ion, why then not to himielf ?
What terror was there in Cae&r that he
fhould feek to avoid him by death, who
not only of all princes, but of all men
was the moft merciful ! — And another
great writer faith, Cato fought occafion
to die, not fo much to efcape Caefar's
U 4 hands

312 EXAMPLE OF COURAGE.

hands as to follow the principles of the
Stoicks ; 2nd by fome notable deed to
give his name to/ pofterity: briefly then,
as thou hail advanced Gato in this mat-
ter of whom I have fpoken, I will ad-
vance to thee one of worthier imitation
in conclufion.

There was of late days one Stephanus
Columnenfus, a gentleman of ancient
virtue, who being befieged by a mighty
enemy of hifc, unto whom he was in
power far unequal; he committed the
defence of one turret, wherein there
feemed to be moft danger, unto one of
his captains, of whofe truft he was af-
fured : this turret being undermined fo
that it was in danger of falling, when
the refidue of the garrifon perceived and
forfook it; they ciefired this captain to

EXAMPLE OF COURAGE. 313

come down alfo, and provide for his
fafety, fince it was bootlefs to tarry;
and to himfelf very dangerous, or rather
certain death. — I will not come down,
faid he, unlefs he call me away who fet
me here !

Such a firm keeper ought thou to be
of thy body, which is committed unto
thee for the wifeft purpofes, as he was
of his turret ; it may not be forced by
thee till the due time for its furrender.
But fay that thy reafonings overpower
me in jhis matter ! how fhall I bear,
added to all my forrows, the grievous
fears* of declining life; blindnefs, deaf*
nefs, unweildinefs of body and mind,
trembling and failure in fpeech; and
the fecret pride thus rebuked and laid
low, that I will own has accompanied
- mc

£14 BLINDNESS,

me through life under every oppofing
trial ! and above all, how {hall I endure
the fear of fuddcn death by fome dread ac-
cident ! what may chance to my body af-
ter death, and all the fearful confli&s to
be polled in the laft hours of old age! I
vriXL reply to thy catalogue of terrors when
I have fet them in battle array before me
as thoo hail recounted them ; and Blind-
nefs I perceive is thy firft caufe of difmay.
I do indeed fear I (hall be blind, my eyes
do begin tofeil me. — Then (halt thou
not fee the heavens and die earth! but to
behold the Lord of heaven and earth
ability is not taken from thee but ren-
dered the clearer r thou fhalt not fee
the woody vallics, the aerial mountains,
the fiouridung coafts, the fbadowy caves,
the filver fprings* the crooked rivers,
the green meadows^ or the portraiture
_ $f man's vifage, more beautiful than

all

BLINDNESS. 315

all thcfe ! but if thou fhalt not fee things
beautiful, Co neither fhalt thou behold
things that are obnoxious to thy fenfes,
that offend thy ftomach, or that annoy
thy mind; the jeers of the fcornful, the
kna wings of the envious, the aflumptions
of the proud, or the deceit and foeers of

the treacherous \

*

But to lofe the brighteft part of all the
body ! — That brightnefs has caft the foul
of fome into darknefs ; perchance the lofs
may call the fpirit into light ! as faid
Tuefias, God doth blindfold the face to
turn light into the heart ! But to fee no
outward light ! Some men have been
merry in blindnefs. Antipater the Phi-
lofbpher being lamented by certain
friendly women, for that he was blind:
anfwered gaily : That fleep which ye

have

316 BLINDNESS.

have at nights, feemeth it no pleafure
unto you ? briefly and wittily anfwered.
For there are inward joys in the gloom of
darknefs; and inward griefs in the beams
of light! Thy foul not thy eyes is to
bring thee inta Heaven ; that will never
be kept back or taken away by God I If
therefore thou aimeft at Heaven, join
with Didimus, who being blind, and vi-
fited by the holy man Aritonius, he told
him to be of good comfort,* and not to
be moved in that he had loft his eyes ;
for they were common to flies, mice,
and lizards, as well as to him: but to
rejoice ; in that thofe eyes which were
common to him with the angels, were
fefe and found : this' faying was worthy
to come from the fcholar 6f a divine
Teacher ! But how can I purfue liberal
ftudies ? If thou dbft fe^k for fame by
• .; •: them,

B L I N D N B $ 9* 317

them, behold Homer and DemOcritus,
the one quick as a lynx is faid to be
without eyes ; the other plucking out
his eyes that they might riot hinder the
fight of his foul ! .:• * . ; - - •-•

•JG do notrfxeaife this, but the-fad proves
thkt^ths <fi>ul has been confidered in fu-
periority tp the; body: Diodbrus the Blihd
applied bot^i} to : philofppjly and mufic;
by books read ? to liim ; .and -which was
more wonderful, to the praftice of geo-
metrical descriptions ;•; and caufing lines
to be drawn by others-, men's hands, he
difcourfed on them by his own under-
ftanding.-^-rCaius Drufus had no human
eyes, but he had fuch ikill in the civil
laws that hi$ houfe was every day full of
troops of civilians : they could fee better
the way to the court than he could ; but he

, could

318 BLIKDN *SS*

could fee better how to cany away the
caufe. But themoft famous of all that wai
ever renowned for blindnefs,was Appiug
Claudius who being both blind and old,
gave counfel in every doubt, rated the
i fenate and governed the whole common*
, wealth. Hedidnotasyedo; when you lofc
one fcnfe caft away all the reft, and thy
mind to boot, by giving way to fadnefs.
But I cannot fee to walk ! Canft thou $pt
none then to guide and direft thy fteps ?
m the loft of human helps, doth not the
blind beggar find a dog to befriend him ;
why wilt thou groan and grieve at that;
which many have borne and improved.
But no noble exploits can be done by
the blind ! Haft thou then forgot Samp-
fon ? haft thou not heard in the civil
wars defcribed by Lucan, what Tirrhe-
nus did upon the fea ; or in thy own

time,

JOHN KINO OF BOHEMIA. 319

time, how John King of Bohemia, fen
unto one King of the Romans, and fa-
ther to another, in the war between the
Kbg of France, whofe part he took*
and the King of England ; in that (harp
conflict, in which bath thefc princes
were in perfon ; underftanding that his
party began to give way, though very
old and blind of both his eyes, he called
unto his captain, with a raifed voice,
faying, direft me quickly toward that
part of the army where the King of our
enemies ftandeth, and the greateft force
of his whole army which when they
forrowfully and fearfully had done, £et*
ting fpur to his horfe, he puihed thither
with all his might, whither they that
had eyes durft not follow him that was
blind, not fcarcely with thsir fight: and
fighting violently md dhnrtbiy againft his *

enemies,

$20 DBA F N fc S «.'

enemies, he was there flain after making
a great flaughter, they that over-came
him at laft, ftahding amazed at his va-
lour, and founding his praife with peals
of honour! I would hot have fuch a
glorious fa<ft perifh in oblivion.

. But not only my eye* btrt my ears al-
io are beginning to fail me \ Then thou
wilt have one paflage for ndnfenie and
for : tedioufnefs flopped/ Bufc aU are
weary of the deaf — ib fhalt thou efcape
the whifpers of flatterers* th^ jeers of
flanderers : and as UlyfldS did,- the fong of
the Syrens ! I own there is feme difeom-*
modity attends deafoefs,*but it has (ts ad-*
vantages. Thou (halt not indeed hear the
nightingales fweet moatt* the-harps foft
found, nor the (brill trumpets clamour •!
neither fhal* thou* hear the braying of

affes,

DEAFNESS. 321

afles, the grunting of fwine, the howl-
ing of wolves, the roaring of bears or
lions, the barking of dogs, the crying
. of children, or which is worfe, the chid-
ings of rektions ! the extreme loud laugh-
ter of fools, their unmeafurable weep-
ings and outcries againft Providence, and
the buz of their confufed and blinded
hopes ! But to have dull ears deprives
of all focial converfe : but hot of talking
with thy s anceftors in books, and of
hearing their anfwersj or I Ipeak it
grayely, of talking with God, and hear-
ing him fpeak to thee; for he that pray-
eth fpeaketh to God: and hethatread-
eth the books of divine philoibphy in
the Scriptures, heareth God fpeak to
him : neither tongue nor ears are here
neceffary, only clean ^xands and a pure
X heart!

322 E A f « E S J.

heart! Though thou heareft not thd
finging of men nor of birds, the melo-
dious pipe, of the merry organ; yet
mayft thdu incline thine heart to hea-
venly fongsj thou fhalt not^ there hear
difcord, but the founds of peace will be
thine ! How many fouls weary of the firft,
have fought in the filence of defarts, and
the fhelter of caves, the quiet thou haft
faith thee in every place, whitherfoever
thou goeft: learn like them to reject
noife and tumults, and to be delighted
with the filence that bars thee from
fuch invaders !

Add to this infirmity the heavy weight
that opprefles my body cannot be remov-
ed ! Thou mighteft complain of thy bulk
hadft thou been born to fly like a bird*
But I feel fo unwieldy to myfelf : Thou

WEIGHT OF BODY* 323

Canft not bend thyfelf indeed into a
little compafs ; or Aide down out of the
top of the air by a rope : what matter is
it ? walk thou fteadily with honeft men,
and let thy gait be modeft as well as dig-
nified. — I feel I am approaching to
old age, that heavy time. — Heaviness
is not its companion always either na-
turally or really ; we fee fome young
perfbns dull and heavy; and fome old
quick and nimble. — The weight of my
body is exceeding great. - — Though in-
vifible, the weight of the mind is greater,
fet the one againfl: the other and there
fhall be nothing heavy; exercife thy
mind, drive away idlenefs, procure thy-
felf bufinefs ; be moderate in diet above
all, and in fleep ; fit little, and lie not
long, walk much, and thou {halt be-
X 2 come

324 DULLNESS OF MINI*.

come the lighter. But I am alfo dull of
mind. — This is fomething troublefome*
but it may be helped: drink not too
much wine, abftain from the paffions
that clog the foul ; watch, contend, rife
and ftir up the ftrength of thy mind!
apply to books, and banifh vain plea-
fures ; there is nothing fo heavy but that
earneft applying Will lift it up ; nothing
fo hard it will not foftei); nothing
fo dull it will not (harpen; nothing
fo flow but it will quicken ! provide
for thyfelf what are provided for dull
horfes; reins and fpurs: if a thing
come not to pafs immediately, fome arc
for leaving it wholly; do thou not (6 r
but labour as did Socrates and Demof-
thenes; fee what they attained by in-
duftry : it is more glorious to be thus
advanced, than by nature : if there be

WEAK MEMORY. 325

any perfe&ion to be fo accounted of in
this world, it is when the light of in-
dustrious learning is added to the vir-
tue of an honeft and a fober heart*

. But I have a weak memory, it is too
(lender for fuch attainments. — Help it
the more eagerly; ufe it as men do walls
that are ready to fall down ; make but- •
treffes to it. — My memory is very flip—
pery; bind it laft with diligence; dili-
gence ftffereth nothing to perifli, no-
thing to be diminifhed : this preferveth
the flourishing wit and fltyle of philofo-
phcrs and poets ; this mainfaineth the
nervous yoiee q£ orators ; this invigo* *
rates age and death ! Solon being $t ,the
very pofot of death $ as his, friends fate
-talking round him^ feemed in a man-
X 3 a nej:

326 weigcs4>F ■rtiE ancients.

ner to rife from death to life : — Chrifip-
pus finifhed in extreme old age that
witty and profound volume which, he
began in youth : — Homer fet forth his
heavenly work in age : — Simonides at
fourfcore, with youthful fervency of
mind, but with aged ripenefs of difcre-
tion : and Socrates, in the ninety-fourth
year of his age, wrote their wonderful
works ! Sophocles, the flower of all- tra-
gic writers, at near an hundred finiftied
his famed Oedipus : — Cato, at fourfcore
and ten, with no change of voice or
alteration of ftrength, or default of me-
mory, both defended himfelf, and accus-
ed moft famous orators in open judg-
ment. Diligence did all that I have re-
corded ; and diligence will do much for
thee. — It will not make me eloquent. —
It is but a few to whom that, belongeth;

and

DEFECTS OF WORDS. 327

and where found it is the more envied !
I am fhort of words alfo. — Apply thy
mind unto deeds, for in words there is
eft labour and forrow ; but in good deeds

real felicity ! ^- I cannot fpeak : .

Many that know little take much upon
them ; fet a fool on horfeback and thou
ihalt have much ado to get him down
again : there is as much judgment (hewn
in filence as in fpeech : a good underftandr
ing and a magnificent mind is oft fhewn
by the former, in the lineaments of the
face, no lefs than by the latter in elo-
quence of words ; there is a more fecret I
and delicate pleafure in underftand- ( .
.ing and exprefling truly by gefture and /
look, than by utterance. — I am afhamed
to fpeak what I feel before many : This
hath chanced to men of great eftimatidn;
what thou canft nojt fpeak before many,
X 4 fpeak

328 COMMUNION OP HEART.

fpeak before a few, or in the prefencc of
. one only. — This private talk is very
fweet : commune alfo with thyfelf ; be
thy own domcftic companion, then thou
% fhalt never lack an aflbciate, one that will
be always with' thee; who will not loath
thee ; who will not lie in wait for thee ;
who will not mock thee ; who will not
envy thee ; who will not look for exadt
or laborious eloquence from thee $ whb
will be pleafcd with thy famiMat talk, or
contented if thou do hold thy peace;
learn to .build up a moil honeft theatre*
a theatre in the midft of thy heart ; re-
joice there without noife, vain pomp, or
fading glory ! learn not to live for fhtew,
not to fpeak for pride, but like Mofes,
poflefs the meeknefs, that under every
impediment, will render thee eloquent
in the fight of God ! I poflefs jiot this

meek-

PRIDE. 329

meeknefs; I feel that I am fomewhat
proud. — Earth and afhes proud ! thou
that art oppreffed with fo many defe&s,
canft thou be proud ? wert thou free
from them all, and lifted up upon the
wings of all other virtues, if that could
be with pride, yet would the latter drive
thee down to perdition ! — By this fell
he that Was created in a moft excellent
eftate, even Lucifer himfelf ! and think-
eft thou fo arife being a (inner : having
that, by which an angel fell ! — Has not
Homer faid, the earth nouriftieth no-
thing more wretched than a proud man.
I would fain know which of thefe things
that follow do moft chiefly fpur thee on
to this Wretched pride : whether the im-
becillity of thy body, which is wearing
away 5 the whole army of fickneffes that
are belieging thee 5 the blindnefs of thy

mind,

\

33° PRIDE-

mind, which continually wavcreth be-
tween vain hope and ufelefs fear: the
forgetfulnefs of that which is paft ; the
uncertainty of that which is prefent; or
the ignorance of that which is to come !
the treachery of friends, the malice of
enemies ; the death of thofe thou doft
love or art related to -, flattering profpe-
rity, or galling adverfity: by thefe lad-
ders that go downward is it, ye afcend
unto pride ? by thefe do ye rife to ruin ?
Some fins have a fhadow of excufe, but
pride and envy no colour at all ! — I am*
forry that I am proud. — To be forry
for fin is the firft degree to falvation ;
and the very firft to that humility that
cafteth down the falfe banners of pride !.
When thou doft begin to turn truly thine
eyes on thyfclf pride (hall furccafe ; thou
/halt blow the retreat, and retire to thine

enfigo* \

P R I D £• 33I

cnfigns: as touching this mifchief, I
will only fay to thee therefore; that
pride is a ficknefs of wretches and fools ;
for they muft be fuch, that are proud ;
otherwife I am fure they would never
be fo : and thus is it written in the Book
of Wifdom, that the proud of foul are
foolifh and miferable : and again, he that
is a king . to-day fhall die to-morrow ;
and when a man dieth he fhall have fer-
pents, and beafts, and worms, for his
inheritance ! how foul a monfter a proud
man is can never be doubted, fince he
forfaketh him that made him ; this is the
beginning of all fin and the worft of all
crimes >, it Js the falling from God and re-
jecting his mercy ! — I dread dying before
my time.-^-This is another folly ! None
dieth before his time ! it might be true

if

332 FEAR OF SUDDEN DEATH.

if thou didft owe thy death only at a
certain time, which the proudeft cannot
maintain ; the good and pure owe it every
day, and therefore look it fhould be
called for; and have always in readinefs
that they owe ; and they gave thanks,
inafmuch as for the payment of this debt
they need no great intreating, no great
riches, no pawn, no ufury of their own;
which were the laft words the valiant un-
known Spartan is reported to have faid
when he was led to execution* to fatisfy
the laws of Lycurgus. — The time of life
is too fhort. — Art thou the judge of
time? feek after that which will be
longer than any time ! — In the midft of
my endeavour to do good I fhall die, —
This is thy fault, who doft begin only to
weave the web of thy life when the

fciflras

FEAR OF DEATH. 333

fcifTars begin to cut it off! this happen-
eth unto many who thinketlj hifnfclf na-
ture's white fon ! or to be plainer, that
they are beyond accident.— J dread death
in every fhape ! I fear leaft I fhould be
murdered in the way ! that an enemy
fhould kill me by poifon : I fear I may
die by fire ; or by the flow gnawing of
worms; or by ttie fudden overwhelming
of water as I fail in my pleafure boat, or
on the f^a, or on accufation that I fhould
fuffer, or that J fall down dead as I walk :
all thefe fears encompafs me at different
times and bring me to grief. — The man
who thus fears always; (hall never want
difmaying fhadows, and horrible vifions !
, if the ftrength of life be taken away,
what great matter whether it be by an
ague or by the fword? whether the
body do open alone, or be brbkfe open.

Some

334 FEAR OP DEATft. '

Some have thanked thek murderers ; and
the Prince of Peace prayed for their fouls !
Wouldft thou have been Euripides, to
have been torn to pieces by dogs ? or
like Lucretius point at thy own breaft;
or be devoured by mice as a great per-
fonage experienced ; but thou feareft to
be burnt by fire! Some philofophers
have fuppofed the foul to be compofed
of fire, if fo, that death muft be the
eafieft that appertains to its own ele-
ment ! and thy body being thus deli-
vered from the worms will not corrupt.

But thou alfo feareft being over-
whelmed in water: then doft thou
grudge the fifhes who have fo often
feafted thee, the return they may claim:
and thyfelf a place of burial, large, clear,
and magnificent ! and though many are

per-

FEAR OF DROWNING. - 33^

perfuaded that to be drowned in water,
being contrary to the etherial and burn-
ing fpirit of the foul, muft needs be mi-
ferable ; yet I rather like well the an-
fwer of a certain failor, of whom, when
on a time, one demanded where his fa-
ther died ? he anfwered, upon the fea :
and where his grand-father, and great
grand-father, and great, great grand-
father ? on the fea all, he replied : and
art thou then not afraid to go to fea ? The
failor cunningly anfwered, I pray thee tell
ipaalfo where thy father, and his father,
and great father, and great father, to
him, died? Even he, faid the quef-
tioner, and the other, and all my ancef-
tors died in their beds : the failor an-
fwered quickly, art thou not afraid then
to go into thy bed I Trimly anfwered,
failor like and even more ; for no good

man.

336 FUNERAL RITfiS.

man dieth evil, nor no evil man well.—
It is not the attendance and waiting of
fervants and officers aflembled round the
body, the rich garments that cover it;
/ the fpoils of the enemy, nor the fhields
and fwords turned down, and dragged
after; nor the whole family mourning
for their mafter, nor the howlings of the
multitude, nor the wife drenched in
tears, nor the children diffolved in for-
row; nor the chief mourner holding
down his head, and walking before
the corpfe with bedewed face; norgfre
preacher's oratory on the dead; nor the
golden images and pictures on the fe-
pulchre ; nor the titles given him which
being engraven in marble ihall live only
till death confume the ftones themfelves:
it is not thefe that maketh the death
honeft ! neither the outward prepara-
tion

DEATH BY TORTURES. 331

tion for execution ; the trumpets, the
terrible looks of the hangman and tor-
men ters ; nor the whips, gallows,
wheels, carte with wild horfes to tear
the body afunder ; neither fire nor fag-
got -, gridirons fet upon glowing coals ;
cauldrons of fweating with hot fcalding
oil ; the fharp teeth of wild beafts whit-
ted with hunger ; nor the hooks and
engines to drag the mangled carcafes,
can render death (hameful if innocence
goes along with it ! All thefc are the
fhadows but not the things : virtue that
ean look death in the face feareth neither (
/word, nor axe, nor halter, nor poifoned
cups, nor the executioner dropping with
gore! thefe are the furniture and en-
figns only, and great fouls have view-
ed them calmly, but to drop aH other;
that moft excellent light of heaven and
Y of

332 WANT OF BURIAL.

of earth ! fo fuffered, to the end that no
condition or ftate of man whatfoever
fhould be judged reproachful with in-
nocence to guard it ! And forafmuch
as there is none higher than the Higheft
in this example I to this point make an
end : virtue alone is able to make any
kind of death honeft, and there is no
death that can blemifli virtue ! Say that
I could compofe my fears of fudden.
death, which I cannot find myfelf able,
to do ; I never could bear the idea of be-
ing thrown forth unburied. In fome of
the cafes I have anfwered, thou couldeft
not be fo expofed ; but where thou
mighteft be fubjedt to this fuppofed dif-
grace, provide one to guard thee, or a
ilaff kid by thee to drive them away
that may aflail thee. Thou doft jeft at
my mifery, for truly I fhaU feel nothing !

Why

LYING UNBURIEP. 333

Why then doft thou fear that which
thou fhalt not feel? and knoweft thou
not the faying, him heaven hides that
hath none other grave ; and that alfo, to
lack a grave is a flender lofs indeed!
Surely it is a woeful thing to lie un-
buried! Believe me it is much more
tolerable to be turned out of a grave, or
•prevented going ifrto one, than out of a
bed. But what a wretched fight!-—
Wretched perhaps to others, but no-
thing at all unto thee : the learned have
agreed that all manner of burial was de-
vifed not fo much for the fake of the
dead, as for the living, which the out-
ward fhew of tpmbs and graves doth
prove: being within fide evil favoured and
horrible, enclofing their tenant, within,
rough and rude rubbifh; but on the
outfide, are wrought with gt^at cunning
Y 2 and

/

334 LYING UNBURIED.

and coft, where the workmen for the
moft part deck them forth to the view
with carved pictures of marble, and fta-
tues of gold, and arms beautifully de-
painted ! — I (hall lie unburied, a loath-
fome fight to behold. — Let them look
to that who look on thee ; thou fhalt
not fee this loathfomenefs : Pompey the
Great, as worthy a perfonage as he was,
lay unburied, or rather lay not ftill, but
was tofled about with the furging waves:
neither was Marcus Craflus interred : —
and was Caefar the more happy or for-
tunate becaufe he was fet up to be feen,
upon the head of a moft lofty and beau-
tiful coloflus, overlooking the tops of
' the higheft churches and fteeples; Co
that I may truly fay, the ftone is beau-
tified by him, but he no whit the hap-
pier : were it otherwife, and that a grave

or

BODIES PEFACED. 335

or tomb made a man fortunate, Maufo-
lus, we may fuppofe, would be the moll
fortunate of all men. Cyrus, that was
king of Perfia; lay unburied; neither
that, nor yet his Scythian bottle were any
reproach; that fell on the cruel and la-
vage inen that fo treated him. But why
do I gather together fo many fing^e bo-
dies lying uninterred, while fo magy
foreign kings and Roman emperors were
bereaved not only of the wifjied folencini-
ty of burial, and the vain honours of fe-
pulchral rites, but torn, and plucked,
and thrown about in pieces to animals,
and to the fowls of the air !— So that a
man might judge it an envious matter
to lay ftill with an whole carcafe ; and
feeing alio, that thofe who are con-
verfant with the memory of times will
fee fuch maflkcres of men and of nations,
V 3 that

336 ARMIES UNBURIED.

that he may be led to cry out, here is
the whole world unburied! for with
king Cyrus, of whom I fpoke, there were
two hundred thoufand Perfians flain :—
with Craflus, fixteen moft valiant le-
gions : — at the overthrow of Canse, four-
fcore and five thoufand citizens of Rome
and their confederates: fix and fifty
thoufand Carthaginians, Spaniards, Li-
gurians, and Frenchmen, at the river
Metaurus : and again, at Aquas Sextas,
not far from the Alps, two hundred
thoufand Germans, Marius being gene-
ral, in both places.

Moreover, at Philippi, the aids of all
confederate kings and nations, and the
flower and ftrength of the Italian youth;
wanting the honour of burial made fat the
Aemonian fields, and luxuriantly feafted

the

VARIOUS .KINDS OF DESTUCTION. 337

the wild beafts and the carrion crows !
fhall I pafs over the Carthaginian fleet,
utterly deftroyed at the Egate Iflands, or
the Maffilian navy at -their veiy havens
mouth, and within fight of their faith-
fill country; -or the Athenian power
drowned before the city of Syracufe ! —
I pafs Salamis and Marathon, I pafs
the confli&s of the Hebrews and the
Scythians, of the Arabians, Parthians,
and Medes ! I fly over the conquefts and
flaughters of Alexander king of Mace-
don made in the Eaft among the naked,
unarmed, harmlefs people there ! I fpeak
nothing of plagues, woeful to hear of,
where many dearly-beloved bodies were
pitifully defeced and made away with;
neither of the incurfions of wild beafts,
whofe fudden invafions have produced
Y 4 the

338 VARIOUS DESTRUCTIONS.

the fame, and fattened on kindred and
people with remorfelefs rage ! nor of
tempefts, nor of fliipwrecks ; and as to
thofe that have perifhed by the fire of
public incendiaries, or from the private
accidents of ravaging flames through
careleflhefs or malice ! No man will fay
they had need of any grave ! — I omit
civil furys and outrages ; domeftic broils
and contentions, ending in flaughter: —
neither ftand I on the ruin of cities and
towns, as Troy, Jerufalem, Carthage,
Corinth, Numantia, and Saguntufn:—
where the moft part of the citizens be-
ing overthrown with the fall of walls
and buildings, were crufhed and buried
within them ! and laft of all, I flip over
earthquakes, by which the whole earth
itfelf, as it were, became to them the
place of fepulchre, which both of old

time

LYING UNBUR1ED. 339

time* and of late days have difmayed and
terrified with their fudden deftru&ion :
and in Afia twelve cities were thus de-
voured among many in other places,

Thefe awful and various matters have
J recited to thee to take away thy fingle
ridiculous fear, who feemeth to me to
fear the lofs of a grave more than the
lofs of life ; and takeft grievoufly to heart, •
that thy poor body fhould want that,
which it is manifeft, fo many gallant men,
fo many valiant warriors, fo many wor-
thy thoufands, fo many holy faints, have
been deprived of ! - — What will become
of my dear, my tender body ?-~What is
become of the parings of thy nails, and
clippings of thy hair, and the blood that
was let out of thy veins for fome fever
or other difeafe, and the fkin that may

have

340 LYING UNBURIED,

have peeled off from thy outward rind,
or the change of the internal parts of thy
body which are never the fame for any
length of time, as the wife examiner
wilK tell thee ! Haft thou forgotten the
anfwer of Theodorus in Tully, whom
Lyfimachus threatened t6 hang up :—
with the found of thefe terrible things
quoth he, difmay thy gorgeous courtiers,
as for Theodorus, he careth not whe->
ther he rot aloft; or upon the ground! if
not in, the bofom of the earth, flie (hall
entertain thee on her face, where the
grafs fliall cloathe, the flowers deck thee,
and fmile at fuch a gueft; the rain
moiften, the froft combine, the fun
warm, the wind fan thee ! and perhaps
this is a more natural meane whereby
the body, which is formed of the four

elements

LYING UNBURIEIU 34!

elements, may be refolved into them
again.— I have horror at laying unbu-
ried !— There have been thofe who hav6
thought it an horrible matter to be co-»
vered with earth, and a very fair death
to be confumed with fire : to die by wild
beafts foroe have deemed moft honour-
able j fo that it is clear, all lieth in opi-
nion : cuftoms on this point having fo
varied; one lieth under a elod, another
is prefled with a rough ftotie, another
bathed in the water, or foaked in the
fait fea ; fome fritter to and fro in the
wind, and fome are fluffed full of fpices
and perfumed with odours, and cloath-
ed with purple; but even they fhall
fall to duftv— I cannot rid me of this
fear of lying unburied on the cold earth!
I do fuppofe from thy repeated clamour

on

342 PERILS OP A SICK BED.

on this point, thou doft fway to a fa-
blifh error, and thinketh that the fouls
of them that lie unburied do wander an
hundred years about the Stygian lake *
which flories truly might fort with little
Children, or the fuperftition of heathen
ignorance, but which a found knowledge
and a chriftian belief muft certainly re-
ject: but perhaps thou wiiheft not to
die at once, or to lay ftfely on the lap of
thy mother earth, but to fuftain a long
and tedious ficknefs: thou don xiotchooie
a clear exit, with none to trouble thee f
and a certain aflurance that thy breath
is fairly departed out of thy body, but
preferred rather % thy own wearinefs and
that of thofe gathered round thee, care-
ful for themfelves and carelefs x>f thee !
or peradventure, as hath happened to
any, thy pillow's caught from thy

liking

PERILS OF A SICK BED. 343

finking head, and thyfelf fent packing
and haftily clofed up, with the life's blood
yet moving within thee ! — How many
thinkeft thou have thus gaped after the
burial, and flocked about the dying, fo
to pluck him away, under colour of good
will ! — O the needlefs and vain cares
of men! their fond and fhort-fightcd
fears, their weak and fenfelefs com-
plaints ; hadft thou any wifhes to be ufe-
ful in death or in burial I would com-
mend thee ! this is the ^whole purpofe
of living and dying ! I would commend
thee if thou didft fear to die, fo as to
give pain to af&dion, and wearinefs to
the aching heart, tenderly watching thy
bed, arid foftening thy laft agonies with*
the firm fupport of exerted compaflion !
or I would commend thee if thou didft
fear thy body lhould be laid within the

walls

344 AGAINST BURYIN6 IN CHURCHES*

walls of fome facred temple, polluting the
air of holy confeflion, and inj uring the liv-
ing vainly to aggrandize the dead ! — But
thy cares are little for others, they are
centered wholly in thyfelf ! and if the
order of Providence went with thee,
that fublime paflage would be reverfedj
no man liveth to himfelf, and no man
dieth to himfelf !— Ah me ! I do indeed
fear death in every fhape, and old
age above all, as the forerunner of all
diftrefs ! — Old age, the fearful mark
of the wicked, and the downfal of the
proud, neither fhaketh nor fhattereth
the virtuous mind, for in the boforn of
the juft- there are pleafures more pre-
cious in age than any delights of youth !

Can the- wrinkles that furrow the
face bring pleafure? Yea verily, for

thofe

O.L D AGE. 345

thofe that feek for truftinefs, for cbn-
ftancy, for wifdorn ! do hope more
affuredly to find them among thefe
wrinkles than where the forehead and the
cheeks be plain, and fmooih, and foft.
But the fweeteft part of life is left be-
. hind in age ? Nay furely the foureft,
if ignorance, difappointment, imperti-
nence, guilt, and ficknefs; are not
wrongly named. But fay that youth is
virtuous ! A rare thing fo befet with
dangers; evefr then youth cannot but be
always fubjeft to danger and error, feeing
it knoweth not the high road to life !—
As to days and years, they are all good,
both young and old ; for the Creator of
all is good : and though in nature fome
be hot, fome cold, fome dry, fome
moift, fome cloudy, fome clear, fome
troubkfome, and fome calm; yet in re-

fped

346 OLD AGE.

fpeft to the beauty of the whole world
they are all good, and fuch is the cafe of
human life. O that one could be twice
* young, and only once old in this life ! —
Thou wilt be only once old, and for evwr
young if thou wilt ! for thy youth fhall
be renewed as it were the youth of an
eagle, and old age is the joyful ambaiTa-
dor of this renewal! Ah, why doth
pleafant youth fo foon pafs away ? For
the intermediate fpace to find room; that
age may come on with the dignity it
meriteth ! and that none may complain,
when the end of all complaint is at
hand ! the varied journey clofed, and
the fhifting comedy ended ; thou
fliouldeft clap thy hands for joy, and
cry plaudit ! An ancient and ridicu-
lous man in Rome, being commanded
by his prince to furceafe from labour oa

account

o h d age* 347

afccount of his great age and riches put on
mourning for himfelf and made his fami-
ly mourn for him as dead, grieving moft
fadly that he could no longer fret and
toil: the reft fo feemly, difdained this
carking old man, when his years ought V
to have been a pattern of quietnefs and
tranquillity : for this is the fweetnefs of
age ! But old age is furely a four time !
Say rather it is a ripe time : if apples
could feel and fpeak, would they com-
plain of their ripenefs and perfection ?
As in all other things fo in age: there
is this ripenefs which is termed old
age, while the agednefs and death of
young men is called bitter, and is oft
bitter, indeed I Contrary to which is the
ripenefs which belongeth to man, and as
the corn, fitteth him for the fickle of the
Z mowcr#

34^ OLD AGE.

fpe<a to the beauty of the r , , ,
■. .. . ,eath but he is

they are all good, and fur'

* ,./. ^ . .«f of life! Thofe
human life. O that r a

. , j, and drowned, and

young, and only or

Thou wilt be or:>* fflay « nonn ^ cal1 k a

•/• • /Aould rather think a hard
young if the . l

i. --i/ but to voyage in the gentle

be rencwr./ 7 . 6

i „ . '/old age, fmoothly to fail into the

do J* P ort °^ ^ ecur ^ t y * f ure ty tkk can ~

• . f be called hard, but by the wretched-

fc ungrateful ! to blame fuch a calm and

pleafant fhore, given thee, on which to

moor thy ufed bark, is indeed to blame

. the moft gracious mother of peace and

reft!

But fuppofe the agonizing gout my
portion ! I promifed thee remedies for
the mind, not for the body : if procured
the? by folly it will give thee time to for*
row juftly, and to pradtice the heavenly

virtue

old A6H* 349

^patience. Biit fay> that fleep is
y age ! When Auguftus could
*eej> he had fome to read or tell him
-iftories— all things are to be remedied
by a good mind. But to live to obferve
evil manners in all around me ! Art thou
obliged fo to cafe for the lives of others as
to loft all comfort in thy own ? Who can
abide in age deceitful, uncivil, contemp-
tuous and unruly minds?* Wouldft thou
vex another man who was fick or worfe
apparalled thail thee ? wouldft thou not
try rather to cure or to cloath him ? But
&e envious cannot be cured : leave them
to themfelves then : they need no other
tormentor, if torment will cure them,
than that of confuming envy! But
rioifes and cries are very unpleafant to
bear in old age: then make much of
% Z the

UO TRIFLES MADE IN EVILS.

the woods, and repair to the ftill village;
but even there I fear for thee, fomc
barking cur; or peradyenture the fweet-
ly moaning nightingale with, her tender
cjomplaints may aniioy thee I Q or the owl
letting in the next lone turref : fpr luch
an one did difquiet Auguftus^ and cared
not for his being lord of the. world !—
Nay the mice who were bred in the
chamber where thou lieth, and who
complain perhaps of thee more juftly for
invading their native foil ! Shall I dif-
cend to fpeak of flies and of fleas : for
verily a mind prone to be difturbed will
never want caufe of trouble from the
fmalleft things : and fo much lieth ia
opinion, that thefe follies may well be
laughed at. Some complain of heat,
others of cold ; fome of wearinefs, others

of

TRIFLES MADE INTO EVILS. "• 35 1

of reft ; feme of winds, others of flag-
nated air. A itory went of a father and
fon who were condemned to be boiled
to death in a cauldron, for treafon! —
Now when they were both put naked
and bound into the cold water, the young
man began to quake and chatter for
cold ; but when the water began to be
hot then did he lament mod grie-
voufly : but the old man, with a coun-
tenance unmoved in both, looking at
him with a ftern vifage — thou fon of a
vile mother, faid he, canft thou abide
neither cold nor heat ? Thus do ye curfe
the fummer fun like the Atlanti ; and
in the winter feafon ye wprfliip the fire
as the Chatdee ! Alexander could nei-
ther bear profperity nor adverfity, cold
nor heat 5 but was faid to be moft im-
Z 3 patient

35* SADNESS WORSE THAN DEATH.

patient of heat, agreeable to his tarbq*

lent teitaper.

Many fear; thunderings and light-t
flings, which being the Weapon* of the
Almighty are to be reverenced ; for he
thundereth in heaven that men may well
live on earth, and his earthquakes are
awful ! frpm them no Heights can ferve t
no lurking places prevail \ and yet even
that is only death, and therefore not to
be feared ! no not even the plague, that
mower down of whole cities ;'-*- nothing
indeed is worthy of fadnefs ; for fadneft
itfelf is worfe than death ! — 'All troubles
of the body, blindnefs, tooth -ache,
that knawing fore, whefe the fmall
bones do begin to fail; and tell man his
little fruft in his fofte? aq4 nipre plia-
ble

NOTHING TO B» GftI&VEI> AT. 353

ble ftom^ch : deafnefe* weight of limbs,
the fhivering ague, the torinfcrtting and
fatal cholic ; naturally, or by poa&n }■***
nay, death in» every fhape, either more
violent or more flow : ficknefs 3n every
fhapi ; leaving many children behind or
none } a faithful wife, and fame fo pre-
cious and defired: all, all are nothing
» companion erf" grief and fear, no not
even infanity itfelf ; for infanity knows
hot its difmay; and dies an innocent! —
Clouds and brightneflefs, both in the na*
fural and moral World follow each other :
the &verfity of the earth followeth the
diverfity of heaven; there i9 not One
drop of water falleth on the earth, more
orlefe than is expedient * and fo of mo-
ral events 5 whofo knoweth caufes fhall
iftfver bewail efFefts : the ignorant may
*' v Z4 groan

354 ALL events OP USB.

groan and lament * but as in profpcrity
I have told thee there is matter for true
humility and grateful moderation ; fo in
what men call adverfity, is there na
lefs reafon for hope and triumph : flow
and lengthened griefs bring repentance
and virtue ; vehement and Jhort trials
everlafting reft !-~ Rejoice therefore, O
man ! in the true fum of all refle&ioo, that
you are made in the image of God, which
is the foul within you ; then rejoice fop
your memory; for fpeech, for (o many
inventions, fo many arts attending upon
that foul ; for fo many neceflities of the
body engaging to induftry and all virtue,
the fingular benefit and providence of
God ; for fo many fundry and beautiful
fhews of divers things for your delight,
$e virtues of roots, the juice qf

h c rbs t

KICHES OP PROVIDENCE. 355

herbs, > the plcafant variety of flowers ;
the great concord of fmells and taftes*
and of founds rifing out of contraries;
£0 many living creatures in the air, upon
the land, and in the fea : add hereto the
pf ofpedt of the hills, the opennefs of the
vallies, the fweet fhady woods, the cold
and bracing mountains, the warm fliores,
the wholefome ftreams of water and
cool fountains, the fpacious lakes, and
the wide feas within and round about
the earth; ponds in its bottoms, and
rivers falling down headlong from the
tops of hills with their brinks, and
heaths of flowers, the green meadows,
thofe bedchambers of the fhores that
coaft them, and the foaming rocks,
rifing as it were in fundry parts from,
pld Ocean's bed ! nor will we pafs ther

moift

$$6 BLESSINGS OF LIFE AND DEATH.

moift caves, the fields yellow with corn,
the budding vineyards, the focial joys
and commodities of cities, the fweet
ftillnefs of the country, and range the
liberty of foreftsr; the ftarry firmament,
in which is faftened the fixed ftars, and
thofe wandering lights, the planets*
which produce the fruits of the earth,
the ftrength of life, and th§ variety of
feafons to gladden it ! But above all, the
hope of riling from death, to have the
body quickened again; made lively*
bright, fhining, and impaflable in glo-
ry and majefty, and like unto the tall
and fpreading trees that grow from dirty
roots, yet cover the green fields with
their expanding branches, and the corn
fpringing from corrupt manure; fo (hall
ye be cleaqfed on the floor of the M oft

High!

FORTITUDE IN DEATH. gjy

High ! fo Jhall ye pafs from thefc delights
and thi trials kindly mixed with them*
to thofe joys that are incffkble and
everlafting : thefe I deferred recording
till the end ; fo great are they as to fill
up the fum of love, and leave no room
for a fingle complaint! what could ma*
trifh, what God beftow beyond the ed«*
cation of life, and the rewards of mercy!
to be honourable in old age, cheered 6tt
his parage, and tranfported td eternity f

Thus is life the fchodl of experience*
the fields of repentance, afcd the paffport
to glory! when the king calls, *nareh
willingly, rife up and depart valiantly;
lie not down to receive his meffage, k
is good to pafs on to yoter ^eftrndtiftn irt
a feerpiy and ready fort, aftd calling fcpart

his

358 JOYS OF HEAVEN.

his holy name with bleffing for your ad-
vancement ! he is loving, gentle, and
merciful! he will hear you, he will em-
brace your fleeting foul with the arms of
love, convey it to the manfions of con-
cord and to the fpirits of the juft! and
then fay, O man, when thou lookeft
through the chink of heaven to earth, if
fo thou art permitted, fay truly, have the
living dying caufe to complain! have
they not all fet before them both in fum
and in fubftance for good ; is not God
the God of love ! is not heaven open to
til ! and are not purified fouls collecting
before the throne of God, from the hea-
venly regions, and the fublunary world's,
a multitude that no man can number,
under Chrift their fhepherd! where to
trace the ftupendous works of creating

wifdom,

JOYS OF THE BLESSED. 359

wifdom, to adore the wondrous grace of
renovating power, and to found the ten
der mercies of everlafting love ! is the
divine employment of re-united fouls,
the tranfporting chorus of faints of
angels, and of the celeftial hoft for
ever !

'.\

INDEX,

I N D EX.

Dedication

. —

Page

— s

Preface

_

_

— 7

Petrarch's

Preface to his noble Friend,

Azon de Correge

■ — '

~ it

Youth

m -ai

—

- •**• • *S

Beauty-

**

*-

— 17

Love

~* -mm

•— • .

— *t

Marriage

_

— ,

— 23

Children

_

M

— ' 24

Dowry

—*

~- »

- 29

Houfe

*mm

— . -

— 34

Furniture

-—*

«~

*- 35

Pictures

*-

—.

- 36

Statues

—

MM

Images

INDEX.

Page

Images ^ — _ — 39

Corinthian Veflels — 41

Precious Stones — — — 43

Carbuncle — — — 44

Ophales — — — 45

Pearls — — — 46

Agate — _ — 47

Sardonix — — — 48

Cups of Chryftal — — — 49

Amber and Gold Veffels — — 50

Apparel — — — gi

Clothing — — . — £2

Ornaments * — — ' _ r*

Head Drefs — — — 54

Train of Servants — - — — 55

Sumptuous Table — — 57

Dainty Diftics ■ — — — 58

Wine — — — 59

Feafts — — — 60

Temperance — — — 63

Feafts — — — 64

Friendfhip — — L ! — 65

Birds and Cages — — 68

Speaking Crows — -*— — 70

PVes and Parrots - — — - — 71

Nightingale and Thrufh — — . 72.

Peacocks «~ — __ . 7*

Domeftic Animals — - — « „ *— . 75

Ware* for Fifties — — 7&

Lampreys . 1— — - — 77

Money ~ »-. 78

Dogs . _. _ — 79

Hunting — * — _ 80

Horfes -p* . — - —.82

Books — -^ _ _ 86

Holy Scriptures — -*» oo

Books

I N D

E X.

Page

Books —

—

*- 9«

Wit —

— -

— 95

Swiftnefs —

.— -■

— 97

Memory —

—

- 99^

, Virtue -—

»— »

■ *- 101 '

\ Wifdom •—

—

— IO4''"

1 J*

^Religion —

—

— 106^

Good Report r— '

—

— 108

Amphitheatre . . —

—

— JIO

Marble Pillars —

—

— Ill

Rome — *-

—

— 112

Amphitheatre —

—

— "3

Colours —

—

— 114

Writing of Books . -—

—

— 118

Freedom —

—

— 120^

Noble Country —

—

— 124

Glorious Country

-^

— 126

Noble Cities —

—

— 128

Thebe§ —

—

— ?29

Athens —

—

— 13°

Great Cities —

*^.

— 13*

Noble Blood —

—

— ' I3 S

Fruitful Land —

—

— I3 8

Hufbandry -—

— -

— 140

Green Walks —

—

— 142

Shady Walks —

— w

— 145

Reft and Quietnefs

«■

— 146

Sleep —

—

— 147

Perfeft Defire of Heart

—f

— 151^

£afe and Quiet —

— .

— 15*

Eafe and Wealth —

—

— 153

Dancing —

-!—

— 154

Drinking —

—

— 49

Mufic . —

~_

— 161

Prime Minifter -»-

—

- 165

Judge —

A*

mmm

— 167
King

INDEX.

Page

King — — — 169

General «— — -~ 17 j

King and Prime Minifter — — 173

Prime Minifter — — — 174

King and Prime Minifter — - — ijc

Prime Minifter — ± — — 176

Public Expences — — — 177

Deceits of Empire — — - < — 178

Revenge — — — 179

Duelling — — „ 182

Revenge — — — 185

Clear Air — — — 186

Sea — ■ _ — 188

Cities deftroyed — - ~ — 189

War and Peace — — 19 j

Troubles of Kings — «— 193

Troubles of Caefar — — 194

Troubles of Men — — iqj

-Hope — _ — 196

Hope of many Things «— — ing

Hope of Inheritance — — m 200

Hope of winning at Games — ' — , 201

Tennis, Dice, &c. — — 202

Game of Lotts _, _ 202

Inhumanity of Gaming — ' 204

Wretchednefs of Gaming — __ 20c

Saturnalia of the Greeks — ^ 207

Wreftling _ _ -208

Shews of the Gladiators — 210

Jefters _ _ — ail

Dangers — - — 212

Drufus and Germanicus — — 212

Germanlcus ■ _ 214

All Times good -_ 21c

Definition of Buildings — — 216

Glory by Buildings — _ ^7

Renown

1NDU

Renown — «*•*

Fame — —

Hope of many Things —

Peace of Mind » ■■ . ■ • ■

Hope of everlafting Life % •*•
Patience in Diftrefs - % •—

Deformity of Body —

Low Stature ■■ r

Sicknefs ~~ — —-

Sicknefs and Poverty • — *

Poverty — •> — -

Prefence of Mind in Diftrefs
Poverty of Great Perions —
"Great -Minds in Poverty —

*Chrift our Lord ! in Poverty
Advantages of Poverty — >

Spare -Diet — -— *

A.Company of Children ■—•

fChildren «•*- ..— •

JDaughters —

Stingy-Son ~

■ Suretyship .—

Wives •—

Hufbands — *

■Fathers ." •— ■

.Mothers —

^Hufbands and Wives
jEnvy of Merit ■—

Ingratitude . ■ ■

A cenforious Temper
Troublefome Neighbours
Contemptuous Neighbours
Scornful Neighbours
Wretched State of Tyrants
Severe-Father — •

A loving Mother •—

A a a

Page
218
219
320
222
223
224
225'
236
228
229
230

m
234
235
237
2*38

*39

240

-v — 244

— ■ ~ 246

24
249

2S4

250
*57

*S9
2^0
.261
26a

— 2te

— 26*

— 265

- *«

Brethren's

■\

I N D E X.

Page

Brethren's Divifions — — 267

Mother-in-law — — — 268

Adopted Child — — 169

Jealoufy — — . — 270

fteceffity of Domeftic Virtue — 272

Sufpicion ufelefs ■ — 273

Friendship — — — 274

Friend abfent — — — 276

Walking ■ — - — — 277

Dread of Danger " - ■ — 283

Convenience of a Cottage — — 284

Exile — — - — 285

Banifhment . .— 286

Death of Cities — - — 287

Uniformity of Life — — 288

Second Marriage ■ — 289
A bad Son — —
Sedu&ion of the Mind —

A bad Son — — — 295

Grief for a good Son — — 296

Death of Children — — 297

^Weaknefs of Grief *— - 298

Grief -— - ' — — - 299

Grief fruitlefs — — — • 300

Evil of repining — — — 301

Ufes of Labour —.—,—. 302

— 293

— 294-

Grief — _ — . 003

An oppreffed Mind — — * — 304

Wavering Mind ~ -** — — 30c

Self Murder — — ' — 306

Cato and Seneca ■ — 316

Cato and Caefar — — ^.311

Example of Courage — — — 312

Blindnefs — — — 314

John King of Bohemia — — 319

Deafnefs M M ^. 320

Weight

INDEX.

Page

Weight of Body — — — 323

Dullnefs of Mind — — — 324

Weak Memory -r— — 325

Works of the ancients — «— 326

Defefts of Words ■ — 327

Communion of Heart ■ — 328

Pride __ — 3 2 9^

Fear of fudden Death . «a— 332^

Fear of Death ■ — 333 /

Fear of Drowning ■ — 335

Funeral Rites ■ — 336

Death by Tortures ■ — 331

Want of Burial ■ — ^332

Lying unburied — — *333

Bodies defaced — — — *335

Armies unburied — — — *33&

Various Kinds of Deftruftion — 337

Various Deftru&ions — — 338

Lying unburied — — — 339

Perils of a Sick Bed — — 342

Againft burying in Churches - — 344

Old Age — — — 345

Trifles made into Evils — — 350 \

Sadnefs worfe than death — — 35a \

Nothing to be grieved at — — 353 i

All Events of ufe " — — • 354

Riches of Providence -— — 355

Bleffings of Life and Death — — 356

Fortitude in Death -•• — 357

Joys of Heaven — — — 358 .

Joys of the BlefTed — — — 359

*

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DATE DUE

JUN2 8J999

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